Ten Killed, Five Injured When Prison Bus Collides With Train In Texas

A skidding prison bus's collision with a train killed 10 and injured 5 in Texas on Wednesday, local authorities report.

A prison bus carrying 15 people skidded into a moving freight train after hitting an icy overpass near Odessa, in west Texas, on Wednesday morning at around 7:30 a.m. The incident killed two correctional officers and eight inmates, while leaving other passengers of the train seriously injured, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement.

"It's with a heavy heart that we mourn the loss of those killed and injured this morning in a tragic accident. Their loved ones will be in our thoughts and prayers," Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said in a statement.

The bus had reportedly been carrying prisoners from a low security prison in Abilene to a prison in El Paso when it hit a patch of ice and began to slide. The large prisoner bus reportedly slid off of the elevated overpass, plummeting into two of the freight train's cars that were in motion down below.

The Medical Center Hospital in Odessa has confirmed that four of the injuries are critical and one was in serious condition as of Wednesday afternoon.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also issued a statement offering his condolescences to the families of those killed in Wednesday's tragic, weather-related incident.

"I also pray for a speedy recovery of a third correctional staff member and four offenders who were transported with injuries," he said.