1 dead at BART train station in San Francisco, officials say
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system suffered from major delays in all directions Thursday afternoon due to a fatality on the tracks at MacArthur Station because it had to close the station, according to officials. The city's BART alert Twitter account posted about the emergency shortly after 3 p.m., CBS San Francisco reports.
A few minutes later, the account posted that the station was closed.
Stn closure at MACR due to a major medical emergency. Trains are running through and not stopping.
— SFBARTalert (@SFBARTalert) March 9, 2018
BART officials confirmed that there was a person under a train on the tracks that was forcing trains to single track through the station.
Later Thursday, the BART alert Twitter account posted that service had been restored:
BART recovering: normal train svc has been restored at MACR stn. All trains are now stopping.
— SFBARTalert (@SFBARTalert) March 9, 2018
Oakland police and fire units responded to the emergency.
At about 3:20 p.m., Oakland Fire Department officials confirmed that the person on the tracks was dead and that crews were working to recover the body. There was no information about the identity of the person or how they ended up on the tracks.
BART riders are being advised that if MacArthur is their final destination to use alternate transportation. AC Transit bus service is available to MacArthur. From Rockridge, riders can take the 51A; from 19th, take the #57 or #33 and from Ashby take #18.
At 4 p.m., BART advised that riders on Bay Point and Richmond trains that weren't stopping at MacAthur could double back to MacArthur from either Rockridge or Ashby.
As of 5:45 p.m., trains were still only stopping in the San Francisco and Fremont directions. The Alameda County Coroner had arrived on the scene.