Two people dead, scores injured after passenger and freight trains collide in South Carolina

A passenger train has collided with a freight train in South Carolina, killing two people.

At least 70 people have been injured in the incident, according to local authorities, with a Red Cross centre established at a nearby school to respond to the wounded. It's been reported that everyone on-board the train has been removed.

Amtrak confirmed in a statement, saying the lead engine "as well as some passenger cars" derailed after the collision.

The train operating between New York and Miami was carrying 147 people on board - eight crew and 139 passengers - when the crash took place in Cayce, South Carolina at around 2.35am.

CNN reports investigators are looking into the actions of the driver.

This is the third Amtrak crash since December, with another incident last week killing three people after a train derailed onto a highway as it crossed an overpass in Washington State.