A HIGH-SPEED train has derailed from a bridge onto a busy highway in the north-western United States causing "several injuries and fatalities".
Emergency services are responding to the "massive incident" in Pierce County, Washington around 40 miles south of Seattle.
Photos from the scene show carriages from the Amtrak train dangling from an overpass on the I5 freeway following the crash shortly after 7am local time (3pm GMT).
CONFIRMED: 70 people were on board when this train derailed @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/8kt93POfU5
— Rachel Calderon (@rachelkiro7) December 18, 2017
At least one carriage of the Portland-Seattle service collided with the highway.
Around 70 passengers were onboard the train at the time of the incident and a triage centre has been set up on scene.
Multiple people were injured on the roadway itself while a number of people have lost their lives, according to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.
A survivor has told of how he crawled out through a window of the train after kicking it out following the derailment.
Chris Karnes told CBS News: "Cuts, people bleeding, I did see — I did see one person who was laying on the ground and was not moving.
"There were multiple people injured. Medical aid of all sorts are on the scene now.
"Cuts, people bleeding, I did see -- I did see one person who was laying on the ground and was not moving."
Eyewitness describes what he saw after the @Amtrak train derailed in Washington State https://t.co/HZkyRwTFtM pic.twitter.com/H8QzK6DFVe
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 18, 2017
"There was a little bit of creaking but there wasn’t a whole lot of warning."
An image from the dramatic scene was tweeted by WSDOT Tacoma Traffic, who wrote: "All SB lanes of I-5 blocked near Mounts Road in Pierce County due to derailed train car. Avoid area!"
Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said the derailment was a "massive incident" and occurred on the Mounts Road overpass on the I5.
It is not yet known what may have caused the crash.
A spokesperson for Amtrak said: "We are aware of an incident involving Amtrak train 501.
"We will update with additional details as they become available."
