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WASHINGTON: Investigators on Tuesday scoured the wreckage of two commuter trains hunting for clues to the worst metro accident in Washington's history which killed nine people and injured 76 others.
Metro officials, who have operated the US capital's busy network for 33 years, said they still had no clue why one train ploughed into the back of another on an above ground section of the line just at the start of Monday's rush hour.
Two more passengers died on Tuesday from their injuries, pushing the death toll to nine. The dead include driver, Jeanice McMillan, 42, whose train slammed into the other one with such force that it thrust two carriages from the front one up onto her train.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were proceeding with a painstaking probe of Monday's accident which turned a routine commute into a nightmarish disaster scene.
"Our first thoughts and first efforts here in DC are with the families and friends of the victims," Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said Tuesday in the aftermath of the collision he described as "harrowing."
Metro General Manager John Catoe said in a statement: "We are committed to investigating this accident until we determine why this happened and what must be done to ensure it never happens again."
The statement added that it was still not known what caused the crash, and the investigation could take "several weeks or months."
But the Washington Post speculated the probe would focus on a failure in the signal system or an operator error, as trains have a "fail-safe computerised signal system that is supposed to prevent trains colliding."
On-board computers control speed and braking, while another system monitors to see if there is a safe distance between trains, and automatically apply brakes if they get too close, the Post said.
Rescuers had laboured through the night at the crash scene and faced daunting challenges because the wreckage was perched on elevated train tracks high above ground.
Special equipment was brought in to lower the wrecked train cars, while an exhaustive search continued on the ground for human remains that might have been ejected from the train.
"Our fire department had cadaver dogs as well as live dogs to be able to determine whether there were any folks," said fire chief Dennis Rubin.
"We did a thorough inspection of the wooded areas on both sides of the train in case someone had gotten off or wandered off or thrown clear of the train."
Rubin said searchers were using various pieces of heavy equipment, including a "crane device" to help with recovery efforts.
The collision involving the two six-compartment trains took place at 5:02 pm (2102 GMT) near the Fort Totten Metro station, on the northern edges of Washington near the neighbouring state of Maryland.
Early Tuesday the lingering effects of the crash were still evident, as authorities cordoned off a large swath of northeast Washington creating morning rush hour delays.
President Barack Obama said in a statement on Monday that his "thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends affected by this tragedy."
Thousands of government employees ride the metro into work each day in a five-line rail system that carries about 800,000 people daily from the suburbs in the states of Maryland and Virginia.
Last September, 25 people were killed when the conductor of a commuter train in Los Angeles was sending text messages on his mobile phone while at the controls.
The only other fatal crash in Washington was in January 1982, when three people died after a derailment. In 2004 two trains collided causing what the Metro called "some minor injuries."
Train passenger Jody Wickett told CNN she was texting a friend when she was sent hurtling through the air of the rail car.
"We felt like we hit a bump and about five or 10 seconds later, the train just came to a complete halt and we went flying," Wickett said. - AFP/de
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