The Latest: Official says engineer noticed bend in rail

CIMARRON, Kan. (AP) – The Latest on an Amtrak train derailment in southwest Kansas. (all times local):

10:40 a.m.

A government official says an engineer noticed a significant bend in a rail ahead and hit the emergency brakes before a passenger train derailed in western Kansas.

The U.S. official who was briefed on the investigation into the early Monday derailment of the Amtrak train says the train appears to have been traveling at about 75 mph when the engineer pulled the emergency brake, slowing the train.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing federal probe.

Amtrak says 32 people were taken to hospitals for treatment and that 29 had been released by late morning. The train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago.

-Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo in Port Jefferson, N.Y., contributed to this report.

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9:50 a.m.

Some passengers aboard an Amtrak train that derailed early Monday in southwestern Kansas, injuring 29, say they heard odd noises from the train shortly before the time it left the tracks.

Timothy Davidson of Nashville, Tennessee, said he and others aboard the train heard what he called “a lot of clacking for about 20 minutes” before the accident, as if something came off the train.

He says the train just “didn’t sound right.”

Derek Kemp, who is moving back to Kansas City, Missouri, from California, says he was in a bathroom on the train and using a smart phone app he says tracks the speed of trains. He says the app showed the train consistently traveling 85 to 90 mph in the hours leading to the accident.

Amtrak says the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City. Amtrak says the train had about 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

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9 a.m.

A passenger aboard an Amtrak train that derailed in southwest Kansas says he felt “shaking” and realized something was “definitely wrong” when it stopped.

KWCH-TV (http://bit.ly/1pizdzG ) reports that Daniel Szczerba (SUHR’-buh) said he was in the front of the train when it derailed early Monday about 20 miles west of Dodge City. Amtrak says the train had about 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

He says that when he got out, he saw several trains in the back on their sides.

Szczerba says that even though emergency responders arrived quickly to the scene, it was still chaotic for passengers. He says many were wandering around searching for relatives after becoming separated from them while making their way out of emergency exits.

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8:15 a.m.

Federal investigators are headed to the scene of an Amtrak train derailment in southwest Kansas.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway says the agency is sending a team to investigate Monday’s derailment. He says more information will be released once the team arrives in Kansas.

An Amtrak statement says the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City. Amtrak says the train had about 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

Kansas Highway Patrol communication specialist Patricia Munford says five train cars are on their side.

Grey County spokeswoman Ashley Rogers says 29 people were hurt but that none have life-threatening injuries.

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7:45 a.m.

An Amtrak passenger recalls feeling “shaking” before her car and several others overturned in southwest Kansas.

Twenty-one-year-old Kelsey Wilson says she was traveling on the train to return to Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, when she was awoken early Monday. Wilson, of Pueblo, Colorado, says she hit her head as the car became disconnected and overturned about 20 miles west of Dodge City.

She says she escaped through the top of the flipped car and then slid down the side. She said she then “passed out” and was among at least 29 people taken to hospitals for treatment. She was released with a neck brace.

Her traveling companion, 21-year-old Daniel Aiken, of Lenexa, Kansas, says he heard people scream. He said they calmed down when they realized the train “wasn’t going to blow up.”

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6:50 a.m.

Authorities say 29 people have been taken to hospitals after an Amtrak train derailed in rural southwest Kansas.

Grey County spokeswoman Ashley Rogers says of the 29 people hurt, none has life-threatening injuries.

An Amtrak statement says the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago early Monday when it derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City. Amtrak says the train had about 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

Rogers says she went to the scene and saw five cars on their sides and two others that were off the tracks but still standing. She says buses and ambulances have taken the passengers who are not hurt to a community building in the small town of Cimarron to wait while Amtrak makes arrangements to take them to their destinations.

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4 a.m.

Amtrak now says about 20 passengers have been hospitalized after a train derailment in southwest Kansas.

An Amtrak statement says the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago early Monday when it derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City.

Kansas Highway Patrol communication specialist Patricia Munford says five train cars are on their side.

Amtrak says about 20 passengers were brought to hospitals in Dodge City and Garden City. All others were brought to a recreation center and will be given alternate transportation to their final destination.

Amtrak says the train consisted of two locomotives and nine cars and had about 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

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3:15 a.m.

An Amtrak train derailed in southwest Kansas, sending eleven people to the hospital.

An Amtrak statement says the train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago early Monday when it derailed just after midnight about 20 miles west of Dodge City.

Kansas Highway Patrol communication specialist Patricia Munford says five train cars are on their side.

Amtrak says eleven passengers were brought to a hospital in Dodge City. All others were brought to a recreation center and will be given alternate transportation to their final destination.

Amtrak says the train consisted of two locomotives and nine cars and had about 128 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

3/14/2016 8:04:09 AM (GMT -4:00)