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NEW YORK (AP) — Red Cross volunteers reached out to about 150 people who arrived at New York's Penn Station on special buses Wednesday — a day after the deadly Amtrak crash.
Red Cross spokesman Michael Vulpillieres told The Associated Press that many had suffered minor injuries but were mobile. A few used wheelchairs.
"Some looked shaken, some distraught," said Vulpillieres, who was among the dozen or so volunteers greeting passengers getting off a handful of buses supplied by Amtrak.
Others were simply frustrated and tired, but needed to reach New York — originally on trains that were cancelled. They included tourists from across America and foreign countries.
Vulpillieres said mental health professionals were available to those traumatized from the crash that killed at least seven people and injured more than 200.
The Red Cross set up emergency operations in lounges scattered around New York's biggest transportation hub, offering food and making sure everyone was comfortable and reached hotels or other destinations by car.
The Red Cross was there "for support, and to make sure their needs were met," Vulpillieres said. "They'd been through a lot, and we wanted their arrival in New York to be as comfortable as possible."
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