Thursday, January 27 2005 09:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Los Angeles: At least nine people were killed and more than 100 injured, many of them seriously, when two commuter trains collided after one of them hit a car parked on a rail line in Glendale suburb yesterday (Jan 26, 2005).

"At this time we believe that we have nine fatalities," Los Angeles fire chief William Battmare said. He said that the death toll could rise in the accident, which occurred around 06:00 hrs (19:30 hrs IST).

Both commuter trains derailed and one of them again hit a freight train pushing it off the track. About 300 firemen were searching smoking rail cars for survivors.

Ambulances with blaring sirens and emergency vehicles rushed to the spot and hospitals in the area were put on alert.

While hundreds of passengers were given first aid on the spot, more than 100 were considered serious enough to be transferred to 20 hospitals in the area, officials said.

The car was probably stalled at a rail crossing, officials said. However, they added that a probe was on whether the sports utility vehicle was deliberately parked on the tracks.