At least one person was killed and more than 100 people were injured Thursday morning when a commuter train smashed into a Hoboken, New Jersey train station platform just after 8:30 a.m. ET.
Both NBC News and CBS previously reported at least three people were killed, citing conflicting reports from first responders.
However, Democratic Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, who represents Hoboken, said a transit official confirmed only one death to him.
READ MORE: Hoboken train crash: Woman who died identified as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon
The state medical examiner’s office said Thursday that the victim is Fabiola Bittar de Kroon. Gov. Chris Christie says she had been standing on the platform when the train came barrelling in and she
was struck by debris.
Kroon, 34, of Hoboken, a former legal worker for the payroll-software company SAP in Brazil – was killed by debris.
At an afternoon press conference, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said a total of 108 people were injured and 74 of them were hospitalized.
Officials said the cause of the crash is not yet known but the train entered the station at a high rate of speed.
The National Transport Safety Board will be pulling the rear event recorder immediately from the train for its investigation, which is slated to last 7-10 days.
NTSB Vice Chairwoman T. Bella Dinh-Zarr said while it’s still unsafe to enter the “controlling car” – the engine at the front of the train – the engine at the back is accessible.
The event recorder will offer information like speed and braking conditions on the train. There were also outward-facing cameras on the train, and the video will be pulled for the investigation.
Parts of the train are under a collapsed canopy in the station, and cannot be safely accessed. The more than 100-year-old building may contain asbestos, and water has been leaking in all day, Dinh-Zarr said.
Christie said the train’s conductor was injured in the crash; Dinh-Zarr said he has since been released and is cooperating with officials.
“We have no indication that this is anything other than tragic accident,” Christie said.
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‘It just didn’t stop’: passenger describes New Jersey train crash -
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‘It sounded gruesome’: New Jersey train crash witness describes fleeing station -
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‘You never think it’ll happen’: New Jersey train crash witness describes helping victims -
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At least 3 New Jersey train crash victims in serious condition -
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Passenger films aftermath of deadly train crash on Hoboken, New Jersey -
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New Jersey transit official confirms more than 100 people injured in train crash -
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New Jersey hospitals treating dozens of injured train passengers
The governor said multiple agencies are assisting in the investigation.
Photos on social media show what appears to be a partial roof collapse at the station, with twisted metal and debris strewn over the station platform.
WATCH: At least three people are dead and dozens more more injured after a train slammed into a crowded platform in Hoboken, New Jersey early Thursday. NBC’s Mark Barger reports.
“The next thing I know, we are plowing through the platform,” Bhagyesh Shah, a passenger on the train, said. “It was for a couple seconds, but it felt like an eternity.”
The man told NBC News he saw several people bleeding and “a woman pinned under concrete.”
The train came to a halt in a covered area between the station’s indoor waiting area and the platform. A metal structure covering the area collapsed.
“It simply did not stop,” WFAN anchor John Minko, who witnessed the crash, told 1010 WINS. “It went right through the barriers and into the reception area.”
Another passenger echoed the radio anchor’s remarks. Speaking with NBC, Nancy Bido, said she was in the first car of the commuter train and it “just felt like it never stopped. It didn’t slow down. It didn’t brake.”
“You felt like this huge, huge bang,” another passenger told the news station. “The lights went off, and then you started to see like – I was in the window seat, so I could see outside, what was happening, and the roof just collapsed on the first car.”
The crash happened at the height of rush hour as Hoboken station is a busy hub for commuters heading into Manhattan.
Hoboken is about 10 kilometres outside of New York City.
–with files from the Rebecca Joseph and Associated Press
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