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Tuesday June 20 11:55 PM ET

Sixty Injured As New York Subway Train Derails

NEW YORK (Reuters) - About 60 people were injured when a subway car jumped the tracks in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on Tuesday night, officials said.

Authorities said that about 10 of the approximately 60 people injured in the accident, which occurred about 10 p.m. were taken to nearby hospitals. Three of the 10 were critical, but none of the injuries was life-threatening, authorities said.

``I don't know what the cause of the derailment was,'' New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told reporters at the scene of the accident.

He said that the third car of the subway train derailed as the train was leaving the DeKalb Avenue station in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Giuliani said the cause of the accident was under investigation.

Newsday

NYC Subway Derailment Injures 60

by DIEGO IBARGUEN Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- A subway train derailed in the New York City borough of Brooklyn late Tuesday, sending jolted passengers skidding along the floors of their cars. At least 60 people were injured.

Three of the injuries were serious, but none were considered to be life-threatening, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said.

''People got shook up pretty badly,'' Giuliani told reporters at the scene. ''Heads were injured and they bounced back and forth.''

The first three cars of a southbound ''B'' train derailed about 10 p.m. just as it pulled out of the DeKalb Avenue station. The wheels of the third car skipped, causing the derailment, said Richard Sheirer, director of the city's Office of Emergency Management.

''We were just riding along and all of a sudden, the brake went on and we all fell to the floor,'' said Ursula Janses, 61, standing outside and clutching a wad of wet paper towels to her head, where she was struck by a dislodged overhead handrail.

Marsha Charles, who was on her way home after work, said it felt like someone had pulled the emergency brake. Passengers fell to the floor and skidded toward the fronts of their cars.

She said the conductor spoke over the loudspeaker, telling passengers he had been injured, and to wait where they were for paramedics to arrive. Those on the train remained calm, even though the lights went out and the car doors had opened, Charles said.

''We just waited,'' she said.

Emergency personnel filled the street above the station, and rescuers carried some passengers in stretchers and helped others to safety. The most seriously injured included a passenger with a heart condition and the other two had head traumas.

Service in Brooklyn on the N, R, B, D and Q trains was expected to be delayed through Wednesday's morning commute. The station is near Junior's, a popular restaurant, and Long Island University's Brooklyn campus.

AP-NY-06-21-00 0122EDT< 

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), June 21, 2000