Against the light darkness of twilight, the wrecks of two crashed light-rail trains stood still on an elevated track as rescuers cut through the cars to pull survivors out.

Two subway trains collided on the Red line between the Fort Totten and Tacoma stations in the northeastern part of Washington D.C., on June 22, 2009. At least six people were killed and more than 70 others wounded in the crash Monday. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua]

 

"I thought it was a thunder, but then I heard some screamings and saw corpses," Timbly Brown who lives across the street on a small slope in northeastern Washington.

Apparently, a transit train smashed into the rear of another at the height of the capital city's Monday evening rush hour. Several cars of the first train ended up on top of the other train.

Walking around the tragic site, Mayor of Washington DC Adrian Fenty told reporters that accident is the "deadliest crash in the 33-year history of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, known as Metro.

The death toll climbed to nine in a rush-hour collision between two Metro trains in Washington on Monday, with scores more injured, CNN affiliates reported.

"The scene is as horrific as you can imagine," Fenty said, "One car was almost squeezed completely together."

He told Xinhua that there will be more press conferences and briefings to keep the public updated about what happened.