Amtrak train derails in Vermont, injuring 7, officials say

An Amtrak passenger train en route from Vermont to Washington, D.C., hit rocks on the tracks and derailed near Montpelier on Monday, injuring at seven people, including one of them seriously, officials there say.

Five of the train's cars went off the tracks in Northfield, about 10 miles south of the Vermont capital. Two of the derailed cars, including the locomotive and one passenger car, went down an embankment.

The derailment occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the Montpelier Fire Department. Six people were transported by ambulance to a local hospital with minor injuires; one person was airlifted to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire.

According to WCAX-TV, some of those injured were "transported from the crash site using ATVs."

In a statement, Amtrak said the train derailed "after reportedly striking a rock slide on the tracks."

"This was a freak of nature," Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Photos posted to social media showed part of the derailment.

The train, known as "The Vermonter," runs daily between St. Albans and Washington, D.C., where it was due to arrive at 9:55 p.m. Monday night.

It's unclear how many passengers were on the train at the time of the derailment. According to Amtrak data, the Vermonter served 88,000 passengers in 2014, or about 240 per day.

In May, an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, killing eight people and injuring nearly 200 others. An investigation by the Federal Railroad Administration determined the train was traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph, or double the posted speed limit, at the time of the derailment.