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17 die in Los Angeles train accident

— Photo: AP

Strewn around: The scene after a train crash in Los Angeles on Friday.

LOS ANGELES: Emergency crews found more victims early on Saturday in the mangled wreckage of a commuter train that smashed head-on into a freight train, raising the death toll to 17 in the deadliest U.S. passenger train accident in 15 years.

Distraught relatives and friends of passengers awaited word on their loved ones as rescue workers delicately dismantled a crushed Metrolink passenger car in search of victims. The search was expected to last into Sunday.

“Clearly the injuries are going to mount and so are the fatalities,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The cause of the Friday afternoon collision in suburban Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley had not been determined.

A total of 135 people were injured with at least 82 taken to hospitals, many in serious or critical condition, fire officials said.

Worried relatives and friends gathered at nearby Chatsworth High School to wait for news, and the hallways occasionally erupted with sobbing as some learned that loved ones had died.

The impact rammed the Metrolink engine backward into a passenger car, which rested on its side with the engine still inside it early Saturday, and accordioned the freight train cars. Two other Metrolink cars remained upright. Crews had to put out a fire under part of the train.

During the night, the teams used hydraulic jacks to keep the passenger car from falling over and other specialised rescue equipment to gently tear apart the metal. — AP

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