Chicago Subway Derailment Sends At Least 100 To Hospitals

Chicago Subway Derailment Sends at Least 100 to Hospitals

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,203045,00.html

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

CHICAGO^—^Dozens of commuters were evacuated and a section of the city's transit system was shut down during Tuesday's afternoon rush hour after a train derailment and fire in a subway line, officials said, adding there was no indication the incident was terrorism-related.

The last car of an eight-car commuter train derailed shortly after 5 p.m., material under the train caught fire and thick smoke filled the subway line, said Chicago Transit Authority president Frank Kruesi.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said at least 100 train passengers had been treated and transported to area hospitals as of about 7 p.m., primarily for smoke inhalation.

All commuters, some covered in soot, appeared to have been evacuated from the subway by about 6 p.m.

Bomb and arson detectives were on the scene, said Chicago Police Superintendent Philip Cline, but he said "there's no (indication of) foul play at this time."

Joel Johnson, 24, of Chicago said he was on the train three cars from the back when "it felt like it jumped the line, and a fire started in the car behind me."

"I saw the orange flames but I didn't hear it," he said. "People started running to the front (of the train), the whole place was filled with smoke, I could barely breath."

Service was shut down on Blue Line stations leading northwest out of downtown, said Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi. The line connects the city's West Side to O'Hare International Airport via downtown.