Missouri officials have declared a ‘large fatality event’ after an Amtrak train stuck a dump truck on a public railroad crossing and overturned.

The Southwest Chief Train 4, which was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago, collided with the truck and came off the tracks at Mendon in Missouri around 1:42 p.m. Monday afternoon, Amtrak confirmed to DailyMail.com.

There were ‘early reports of injuries,’ Amtrak said in a statement, adding that there were 243 passengers onboard at the time of the crash.

Shocking photos taken in the immediate aftermath show a female passenger being helped out of a broken window, while others were seen atop overturned cars.

Local emergency personnel have responded to the scene.

Source: Daily Mail UK

+10

View gallery

One passenger tweeted that they had taken refuge at a local high school in Mendon, Missouri, writing: ‘So thankful for the people here, safely at the Northwestern high school near Mendon. This town pulled together to help everyone’

Journalist Nylah Burton, who was on a separate Amtrak train set to depart Albuquerque, says she was informed of the possible deaths and injuries by a staff member who came into her car to announce a delay caused by the incident.

She tweeted: ‘An @Amtrak train just derailed in Kansas City (there are likely fatalities but they don’t know all the details) so I’m stuck in Albuquerque tonight because the train can’t go any further.’

A Twitter user called Durand shared the shocking snaps, saying: ‘Oh no.. #Amtrak derailment somewhere in #Missouri.’

Amtrak confirmed to DailyMail.com that multiple injuries were reported, but no additional details were released.

Amtrak tweeted that the Southwest Chief Train 3, which was scheduled to depart Chicago, has been canceled. Amtrak asks passengers to contact 1-800-USA-RAIL for further assistance.

Mendon is about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.

+10

View gallery

Passengers stand on top of a derailed Amtrak train after it collided with a dump truck at a public crossing in Missouri Monday afternoon

The derailment comes one day after another Amtrak train collided with a car at a crossing in Brentwood, California, on Sunday afternoon, killing three women, and injuring several others.

Three women, all over the age of 50, were pronounced dead at the scene in Sunday’s crash, according to The Mercury News.

Authorities say the car pulled into a long rural dirt driveway near the intersection of Orwood Road and Bixler Road around 1pm when the Amtrak train rammed into it.

The car then careened off the road and hit another vehicle.

A child and two men were also hospitalized with serious injuries, and another person suffered from moderate injuries.

In total, a spokeswoman for BNSF Railway told the New York Times there were ‘approximately’ five people injured, though the number remains in dispute.

+10

View gallery

On Sunday, three women were killed and four others were injured when an Amtrak train slammed into a car at around 1pm in Brentwood, California. About 24 hours later, another Amtrak train derailed, this time in Missouri, and multiple injuries have been reported

+10

View gallery

Authorities say the car careened off the road following the impact and hit another vehicle

Those who who were seriously wounded were rushed to the John Muir Medical Center after the crash on Sunday afternoon, according to ABC News. One of the adults was airlifted and the child was transported by the ground, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The victims were all inside the four-door sedan when it was struck, officials say, and Battalion Chief Craig Auzenne, of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, told reporters at the scene that none of the 81 passenger or five crew members on board the train were injured.

In fact, he said, the train came to a stop about a quarter-mile from where the sedan slammed into an SUV.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

But East Contra Costa Fire Department officials say they’d already been called out to that train crossing twice last year because it does not have a traffic guard.

‘It’s a bad crossing,’ Steve Aubert, a fire marshal said, noting that trains travel at about 80mph on the tracks.

‘It’s just a recipe for disaster unfortunately.’