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Toll rises in Los Angeles train crash

Other News Materials 13 September 2008 23:09 (UTC +04:00)

The death toll in the head-on crash of a commuter train and a freight train outside Los Angeles has risen to 17, officials said on Saturday.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said the Friday afternoon crash -- the worst commuter train crash in Los Angeles history -- had injured 135 people, including 45 who were in critical condition.

"Seventeen people have been confirmed dead," he said.

Rescue workers continue to search the twisted wreckage given "the remote possibility" that more survivors may be found, Myers said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is poised to take over investigation of the crash.

Workers were searching for the event recorders carried by the two trains and the dispatch station recording involving the crash were to be turned over to NTSB investigators on Saturday.

The event recorders -- like the so-called black boxes carried by airliners -- monitor the actions of engineers on the trains and should provide investigators with crucial information regarding the cause of the collision, Reuters reported.

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