7 Train Collision Strands Hundreds Of Passengers In Queens Tunnel

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — About 500 passengers were stuck in a subway tunnel for hours on Sunday when a 7 train hit an object on the tracks, according to authorities.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m., the Manhattan-bound train was near the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue station in Long Island City when it ran over the unidentified object, which became stuck under the train, FDNY Deputy Chief Francis McCarthy told reporters.

Subway cars quickly filled with smoke, and authorities shut off power to the tracks after getting a report that passengers were walking inside the tunnel. Once that report proved to be untrue, power was restored, allowing authorities to send a rescue train to retrieve the passengers, McCarthy said.

As the train stalled, service along the busy 7 line was snarled in both directions, with train service suspended between Queensboro Plaza and Grand Central-42nd Street until around 9 p.m.

By around 7 p.m., passengers managed to finally escape when authorities loaded them onto the rescue train. One passenger tweeted around 7:22 p.m. that she had endured the two-hour wait "because our train caught fire."

There were no injuries, but police were investigating how the object ended up on the tracks, McCarthy said.