1 person dies after smoke empties DC subway station
- 9 years ago
The transit network in the nation's capital remained hobbled Tuesday morning after an electrical malfunction that filled a busy subway station with smoke, killing one woman and sending dozens of people to hospitals.
The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the incident, which happened at the beginning of the Monday afternoon rush hour and led to the first fatality on Washington's Metro system since a 2009 crash that killed eight passengers and a train operator.
NTSB investigator Michael Flanigon told reporters late Monday night that an electrical "arcing" involving the high-voltage third rail led a train to stop in a tunnel and quickly filled the tunnel with smoke. An arcing occurs when electricity from the third rail comes into contact with another substance that conducts electricity, such as water.
There was water in the tunnel, but Flanigon said the cause of the arcing was not yet known.
The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the incident, which happened at the beginning of the Monday afternoon rush hour and led to the first fatality on Washington's Metro system since a 2009 crash that killed eight passengers and a train operator.
NTSB investigator Michael Flanigon told reporters late Monday night that an electrical "arcing" involving the high-voltage third rail led a train to stop in a tunnel and quickly filled the tunnel with smoke. An arcing occurs when electricity from the third rail comes into contact with another substance that conducts electricity, such as water.
There was water in the tunnel, but Flanigon said the cause of the arcing was not yet known.