At least 19 people have been injured after a New York subway car derailed Friday morning.
The Brooklyn-bound F train carrying about 1,000 passengers went off the rails near a Queens subway station at about 10:30 a.m. Four people were taken to local hospitals with potentially serious injuries, while a further 15 people were treated on the scene. (Via WCBS, News 12 Long Island)
WNBC obtained this footage from inside the subway tunnel of firefighters working to rescue the trapped passengers. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York fire and police departments managed to evacuate everyone inside the tunnel in two hours.
One of the rescued straphangers described the ordeal to the New York Post: "The train was shaking and the cars in the front started tilting to the right. ... I heard a pang and then a screech and then the train came to a halt."
The derailment caused some track damage but no major structural damage. MTA chairman Tom Prendergast told reporters the cause of the incident is still under investigation.
"What is going on is a detailed accident investigation of track signals, train operations and any other factors that may have contributed to the accident." (Via WABC)
The MTA expects to have service in the area restored for rush hour by using local tracks. Repairing the damaged track and removing the train should begin sometime after rush hour.
