World enews: Three people killed as train hits vehicle at rail crossing in South Carolina

Three people have died and a fourth was seriously injured after a collision between an Amtrak train and a vehicle at a railroad crossing in South Carolina, authorities say.

The North Charleston Fire Department said in a statement that the vehicle was found heavily damaged when police arrived at the at the Remount Road railroad crossing at about 2:30am on Saturday.

Three people who had been traveling in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth person was taken to a local hospital.

There were 500 passengers on the train, but no reported injuries, the fire department said.

The Amtrak train was able to make a controlled emergency stop after the collision.

Damage to the train is being assessed by Amtrak representatives.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Agencies contributed to this report