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Q Train With 135 Riders Derails in 2nd Mishap in Recent Weeks, MTA Says

By  Jeanmarie Evelly Janon Fisher and Caroline Spivack | July 21, 2017 9:50am | Updated on July 21, 2017 5:40pm

BROOKLYN — A Q train with 135 passengers on board derailed in Brighton Beach during the Friday morning commute — the second derailment in the area in recent weeks, sources and transit officials said.

The rear set of wheels on the second car of a southbound Q train came off the rails north of the Brighton Beach station just before 9 a.m. Friday, MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.

A pregnant woman aboard the train complained of back pain and was taken to Lutheran Hospital for evaluation, FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala said during a press conference. No other passengers were reported injured.

On July 9, a maintenance train derailed at the nearby West 8th Street stop, a transit source said.

Ortiz said that a train did not derail on that date, but that a "high-rail vehicle" had a mechanical issue.

Another train was sent to the scene to carry the passengers from the disabled train to the Sheepshead Bay station, officials said. Gala stated at the press conference that 300 people were evacuated, though the MTA said it was only 135.

Malik Almardie, 20, a clerk at Golden Gourmet deli across from the Sheepshead Bay Station, described the chaotic scene there following the derailment. 

"We were outside sweeping when we smelled something burning — like burning rubber," he said. "In like 30 minutes, a ton of firefighters showed up and people ran out the station getting in cabs and on buses. I had no idea what was going on."

A crane was being brought in to remove the derailed train from the track.

B and Q train service resumed with delays about 5:04 p.m., according to the MTA's website.

Mayor Bill de Blasio declined to answer questions about the derailment and other transit troubles while taking a stroll on the boardwalk in Far Rockaway Friday.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the another train derailed last week at the same location as Friday's incident. The earlier derailment actually occurred on July 9 near the West 8th Street station.