More than 100 people were injured and one person was confirmed killed when a crowded New Jersey Transit train crashed into the Hoboken terminal Thursday during morning rush-hour, sources said.
Disaster struck at around 8:45 a.m. when commuter train No. 1614 on Track 5 on the Pascack Valley Line slammed through the wall of the terminal, causing massive structural damage to the station, a NJ Transit source said.
Photos posted to social media showed part of the front of the wayward train partially inside the terminal amid fallen columns, beams and wires. A portion of the arched roof of the terminal appeared to be collapsed.
The train, which departed from Spring Valley, was due at the Hoboken station at 8:38 a.m. It was apparently running late, WABC reported.
Rescue crews were successfully removed trapped passengers from the train cars, according to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
“You can see from the level of destruction that this was obviously a train that was traveling at a high rate of speed,” Christie told CNN.
Earlier reports suggested three were dead but officials have confirmed one.
Witnesses said that the train hit the barrier at the end of the line and went airborne, striking the ceiling of the terminal.
“#Hoboken 1st car hit concrete barrier with such force it went airborne & hit roof & brought roof down & crushed car down to the seats…” tweeted Daniel Payne.
Mike Larson, a 25-year NJ Transit said on CNN that he heard a “bomb-like explosion.”
“It was obviously…going faster than it should have,” Larson said, adding that the train “went up and over the bumper block, through the depot, which is a concourse for people to walk to the PATH and the ferry, and came to rest by the waiting room.”
He described the crash as “one of the worst days I’ve ever seen.”
Rep. Albio Sires (D-New Jersey) told CNN that the first car went 30 feet in the air and smashed into an empty store in the terminal.
“It’s a miracle that it’s only one casualty,” Sires said.
He added that the conductor was “still alive.”
A NJ Transit spokesperson said multiple people were critically injured.
“My train just ran full force into Hoboken Station,” Twitter user @jaydanahy posted along with a picture of the train.
Other passengers tweeted that they were lucky to be alive.
“Chaos in #HobokenStation, train ran past brake barrier, I am safe,” Steve Long tweeted with a photo of the collapsed roof and wires.
Long told The Post he saw injured people, including a woman who had blood running down her knee and a man with a bloodied hand, walking through the station.
“Obviously I wanted to get out of there. They made it sound like the structures overhead weren’t safe,” the 35-year-old video producer said, adding that an official yelled “Evacuate the area!”
Long added, “I was basically dazed.”
One of the survivors on the train said she was safe and only suffered a minor injury.
“My train just derailed and crashed into the Hoboken train station. Thankfully all I got was a crack to my head, please pray for the rest, ” @rustysombrero tweeted along with photos showing the destruction to the terminal.
“Unbelievable scene in Hoboken right now. Train crashed and went straight through the platform into the station,” tweeted @Chris_Lantero, sharing a photo of the chaos.
Leon O., a passenger in the third car of the train that crashed, uploaded a video to Twitter showing the chaotic moments after the crash – with people yelling and repeating, “Oh my God, Oh my God.”
“I think I’m still in shock,” he told CNN, adding that he saw numerous injured people walking past him.
He said he wasn’t in a seat with a window, but doesn’t think the train slowed down when it was approaching the Hoboken station.
“There was no brakes, all of a sudden just crash,” he said. “Something happened.”
Passenger Linda Albelli, 62, told Reuters that she was sitting at the rear of the train it barreled into the station.
“I noticed, ‘he’s not slowing up, we’re going too fast,’ and with that there was this tremendous crash,” Albelli said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
The Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are launching an investigation into the crash.
All rail service at the Hoboken station has been suspended. New Jersey Transit bus and private carriers are honoring NJT rail tickets and passes, and NY Waterway ferry is accepting rail tickets and passes.
The Hoboken Terminal, which is New Jersey Transit’s fifth-busiest station, serves about 50,000 people every day.
Facebook activated its Safety Check feature Thursday morning following the crash.
