WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Six passengers were taken to the hospital after a train derailed near Khandallah Station on Wellington’s Johnsonville line Saturday evening, according to New Zealand Police and RNZ.
Police said emergency services responded to the derailment at about 7:20 p.m. near Khandallah Station and that about six passengers were reported injured. Cordons were put in place at Box Hill and Station Road, and police asked motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area.
RNZ reported that Fire and Emergency New Zealand, ambulance crews and police were called to the scene between Box Hill and Khandallah stations, closer to Khandallah. Wellington Free Ambulance sent six vehicles, and six patients were transported to the hospital, including two with serious injuries, RNZ reported.
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.
According to RNZ, the train remained upright after leaving the main line and moving onto a runaway section of track near the far end of the Khandallah platform. It came to rest against a concrete block designed to prevent a train from running farther, RNZ reported.
Wellington City councillor Diane Calvert told AFP she heard what sounded like a “huge short boom,” according to RNZ.
Authorities asked the public to stay clear of the area while emergency crews worked at the scene.
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