Dozens more people taken to hospital after enduring long wait for rescue in choking conditions

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A woman died when smoke poured through a subway train on the Washington DC Metro, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people from a station just before afternoon rush hour. Dozens more people were injured, authorities said.

Hundreds of passengers had to flee the L’Enfant Plaza station, one of the subway system’s busiest, about 3.30pm, said District of Columbia fire and emergency spokesman Timothy Wilson.

The Washington Post reported that a Virginia-bound Yellow Line train stopped suddenly just outside the station and began filling up with smoke, with some passengers choking and passing out while others passed around asthma inhalers for relief as they endured a long wait for rescue.

Another emergency official, Caroline Laurin, confirmed that a person had died. She said the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating and would provide additional information. The NTSB tweeted that it had begun an investigation and was on the scene.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man received oxygen after being freed from the smoke-filled train. Photograph: Paul J Richards/AFP/Getty Images

“It started to get scary pretty quick,” passenger Jonathan Rogers was quoted by The Washington Post as saying. “People started praying. Smoke was coming in pretty steadily.”

Passenger Saleh Damiger was quoted by the newspaper as saying that people were choking and yelling aboard the train. “It was a lot of smoke,” she said. “We couldn’t see each other. We felt like we were almost going to die.”



Eighteen people from the station were taken to Medstar Washington hospital, most of them for smoke inhalation, according to spokeswoman So Young Pak. She said 11 were treated and released. Of the seven still in the hospital by 8pm on Monday, one was in a critical condition and one was in a serious condition, she said.

George Washington University hospital spokesman Matt Brock said in an email that 34 patients suffering from smoke inhalation had been brought there and their conditions varied.

The Washington Post reported that 40 people were taken to Howard University hospital.

The source of the smoke was not immediately known.