Local
No injuries were reported.
Sian Bernard
An MBTA Orange Line train caught fire early Thursday morning in Somerville while crossing the Mystic River Bridge.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo told The Boston Globe that at approximately 6:45 a.m., flames and smoke were seen coming from the main car of a southbound train bound for Assembly Station. He said all passengers had disembarked from the train and there were no reports of injuries.
“With the assistance of MBTA personnel, approximately 200 passengers were removed from the train, but some people evacuated through the windows of the first car,” Pesaturo told the Globe.
Clear video of flames and smoke coming out from under an Orange Line train this morning in Boston. Passengers broke windows to get to safety. (Video by Jon Gosselin) #WBZ pic.twitter.com/5innaI5d5R
— Liam Martin (@LiamWBZ) July 21, 2022
NEW: Video shows Orange Line drivers jumping from windows after train catches fire over Mystic River.
The MBTA says a person even jumped off the bridge into the water. They refused medical help. pic.twitter.com/xTdSWFlP2L
— Rob Way (@RobWayTV) July 21, 2022
One passenger even jumped into the Mystic River below after exiting the train, according to officials.
“An unidentified female passenger jumped off the bridge into the river,” Somerville Fire Chief Charles Breen said in a telephone interview with the Globe. “Our Navy boat ended up in the river for training and was immediately on the spot. The woman refused to enter the boat. They provided her with a life jacket and she continued to swim to shore … then she left.”
The woman who jumped told WBZ’s Anna Mailer, “It was very scary for all of us.”
“We had no idea what was going on,” she said. “It was pandemonium. I think I’m safer in the water right now than walking the tracks.”
The train was eventually pulled back to Wellington Station, where MBTA officials inspected a charred section of the main car, WCVB reported.
The MBTA said on Twitter that the shuttles will replace service between Oak Grove and Community College. A commenter on the post shared an image of piles of passengers with a caption suggesting that the number of buses sent was not enough.
Are masks still recommended on buses when they pack people so tightly that their noses are in other people’s mouths? pic.twitter.com/AcqOQfu8nW
— MrMostlyMediocre (@MMMediocre) July 21, 2022
The MBTA has been in hot water recently, with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sending them a damning report in June, and although they announced Tuesday that they are on track to fix the safety issues the FTA exposed, this incident seems to clarify yet has a long way to go.
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