An Amtrak train with nearly 200 people on board has derailed after colliding with a water truck in southern California.
Fourteen people were taken to hospital with minor injuries while the truck driver was taken to a trauma centre with a head injury.
All the passengers and 13 crew members were evacuated from the train after three of its seven cars veered off the tracks, said Ventura County Fire Department Captain Brian McGrath.
Officials claimed the accident could have been far worse had the train cars fallen over once they came off the tracks.
The BBC reported the Ventura County Fire Department as saying that the Amtrak Coast Star Light train was travelling from Los Angeles to Seattle when it derailed in Moorpark, around 50m (80km) northwest of Los Angeles.
It said that fire crews were able to quickly douse a small fire under the train.
Amtrak reported that the county water truck was “obstructing the tracks” when the train struck it at about 11.15am local time.
“The train derailed as a result of the impact but remained upright,” it said, adding it is conduction a full investigation into the incident.
“We’re very lucky today that the trains stayed on the wheels,” said Andy Vansciver of Ventura County Fire.
“Obviously, it was derailed but it stayed vertical. I think that really limited the amount of injuries we had.”
The crash happened in an area surrounded by farmland.
The truck was believed to be on its way to a nearby ranch.
