RENO, Nev., June 26 (UPI) -- At least six people were killed in a collision between a tractor trailer and an Amtrak train in the Nevada desert, officials said Sunday.
Twenty-eight people believed to be on board the train remained unaccounted for, the Los Angeles Times reported. But some could have missed the train in Chicago or disembarked at earlier stops, Earl Weener of the National Transportation Safety Board said.
The lead vehicle in a three-truck convoy from John Davies Trucking in Battle Mountain, Nev., hit the side of the train at a level crossing 70 miles east of Reno late Friday morning. The truck driver was killed, and the two drivers behind him said they saw the train and did not know why he failed to stop.
The train, carrying about 200 passengers and 14 members of the crew, left Chicago Thursday bound for Emeryville, Calif.
The collision set off a fire in two cars of the passenger train. The condition of the wreckage delayed the search until about 1 p.m. Saturday.
"If you look at the amount of damage to the train, you can understand why we don't know yet how many people died," an NTSB official told the Times.
An emergency worker said at least 150 people got off the train uninjured or with only minor scrapes and bruises, reported KRNV-TV, Reno.
