VIDEO–Train Passengers Jump Off Bridge, Escape Through Windows During Fire: ‘People Got Very Frightened’

Amy Furr

A train passenger jumped from a bridge into a river as numerous others got out through windows when the train caught fire in Somerville, Massachusetts on Thursday.

Smoke was seen pouring out of the train on the Dana Bridge while approximately 200 people were onboard, WCVB reported.

According to commuter Aubrey Charles, a woman panicked and leapt from the bridge into the water. First responders rescued the woman from the water, but she refused medical attention, authorities relayed.

The outlet said no injuries were reported.

“Flames and smoke were observed on the head car of a southbound Orange Line train approaching Assembly Station. Power was turned off between Wellington and Assembly and the Somerville and Medford Fire Departments responded,” MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo explained.

Officials reported to CBS Boston that the cause of the fire was a “mechanical issue.”

Shuttle buses replaced service between the Oak Grove and Community College stations. Meanwhile, the train was returned to Wellington Station where officials performed an inspection.

More video showed fire crews assessing the damage while the train was still stopped on the bridge:

A passenger recalled her experience:

We were between Wellington and Assembly station, and suddenly the train stopped. Which was strange, and we heard an explosion, just a really loud boom. And we saw smoke coming from the car directly in front of ours. Understandably, people got very frightened. Started screaming. There was no announcement or anything over the speaker, so we were all just kind of unsure of what was going on.

Some good Samaritans tried to actually pry the doors open to get us all out of the car. But unfortunately, they wouldn’t unlock. Luckily, we were able to get to an emergency exit after some time and actually exit the train by jumping from sort of a large platform. There were other cars that had to break the glass in order to get out.

A photo appeared to show passengers walking down the tracks after the incident occurred.

“It’s shocking, but not shocking at the same time… “It’s awful, but it’s kind of our daily life in Boston taking the train I guess,” another rider said:

Per the WCVB report, updated Orange Line trains were recently taken out of service when a battery temperature reading caused it to overcharge, resulting in failure.

“In May, a braking issue caused one of the new Orange Line trains to become disabled,” the outlet said.

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