At least 200 people were evacuated and 84 brought to the hospital, three of which are in critical condition after the L'Enchant Metro Station trains were filled with smoke on Monday. The disastrous event left one fatality.
"We are all saddened by today's fatality aboard the Metrorail, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the passenger who passed away," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement following the event.
A big part of the Yellow and Green lines of the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station were closed Monday afternoon due to smoke that filled the trains. The Metro suspended the Green line between Mt. Vernon Square and Navy Yard, while the Yellow lines service was closed between Pentagon City and Mt. Vernon Square, according to reports.
Services on the Silver, Blue, and Orange lines, were affected but restored Monday night. There is no announcement when the Yellow and Green lines will be in operations.
The scene inside the train was pretty scary, according to a passenger, Jonathan Rogers, who was on the Yellow line train when the smoke filled it.
The operator asked everyone to calm down after the train came to a halt and smoke that smelled like chemical came in through closed doors, there was no fire. The lights went out and passengers were asked not to open the doors, which proved to be a big mistake according to reports.
Everyone inside the train sank to the floor as the train was filled with smoke. No one knew if the smoke would stop coming in.
"It started to get scary pretty quick. People started praying. Smoke was coming in pretty steadily. Some people were fine and some people were just hurting pretty quickly," Rogers told The Washington Post.
Passengers who had trouble breathing shared inhalers. One woman passed out because of difficulty breathing. Passengers took turns giving her CPR, and help came 40 minutes after.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working along with the Metro Transit Police in investigating the cause of the smoke.
