The site of the rush-hour collision between two Metro transit trains in Washington

Matt Spence in Washington
Two Washington DC Metro trains collided tonight just as rush hour commenced, killing at least six.

The crash, which ended with a large section of one train sitting atop the other, occurred in northeast Washington, just near the border with Maryland. Cathy Asato, a Metro spokeswoman, confirmed that one of the fatalities was the operator of one of the two trains involved.

Washington DC fire officials reported that more than 76 people were injured, including two whose were in a serious condition. At least 30 people were taken to area hospitals, and countless others suffered minor bumps and scrapes as a result of the impact. Two of the injured were local firefighters who had responded to the scene.

Police and more than 200 firefighters were being forced to cut open the passenger cars affected to reach the injured.

John Catoe, the Metro General Manager, who was on the scene shortly after the accident, was unable to provide the circumstances under which the crash occurred, but he did suggest that the trains were not “full.” He advised all passengers to avoid the Metro line in question for the rest of the evening, putting serious strain on the Washington area’s evening commute.

Later reports indicated that trains were traveling in the same direction, with one train slamming into the other from behind. The female driver of the second train is reportedly the operator who was killed.

Last month, the Washington Metro rail system averaged nearly 300,000 passengers per day. The Red Line, where tonight's accident occurred, is by far the busiest of the system’s six routes, accounting for more than half of the system’s daily passengers.

The 33-year-old system is no stranger to collisions, the last of which also occurred on the Red Line in 2004. In that accident, no one was killed, but 20 people were injured.

Unconfirmed passenger reports from the scene suggested that Metro may have been conducting track maintenance earlier in the day, which may have contributed to the accident. During repairs, trains often share tracks, though speeds are usually slowed significantly.

The National Transportation Safety Board was on scene within hours of the accident tonight to investigate the cause of the crash. The FBI was also on the scene, though they were quick to point out that nothing yet suggests anything criminal was involved in the collision.

Adrian Fenty, the Washington Mayor, called the accident "the deadliest in the history of our Metro system."

The last major transit accident in the US occurred last September in Los Angeles, when a commuter train operator was sending text messages while driving. That crash killed 25 and injured 134 more.