SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — A passenger train derailed in eastern Australia early Tuesday, injuring more than 120 people as cars slammed into trees and plowed through nearby fields. Medical officials said it was a miracle nobody was killed.
The train, carrying 164 passengers and crew from Brisbane to the northern town of Cairns, careened off the tracks shortly after midnight, about 250 miles north of Brisbane, Queensland state police said.
Many passengers were likely sleeping when they were suddenly tossed around the carriages, they said. Some car almost slid onto the adjacent Bruce Highway, the major east coast road.
About 35 of the injured were being treated for serious injuries, hospital officials said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the train to jump the tracks, and officials said an investigation was under way.
Amazingly, no deaths. There's an update at BBC.
No disrespect intended to the injured and victims, but does anyone else find this passage from the BBC report ironic?
Passenger Frank Houdini said he was woken by the train leaving the tracks.
"The next thing I know, I've gone through the front door and there's no more train," he told national radio.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4015453.stm