At least three people were killed following an Amtrak passenger train derailment after the train struck a dump truck in the U.S. state of Missouri Monday afternoon, U.S. media reported, citing the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The Amtrak train, with 243 passengers and 12 crew members aboard, hit a truck that was obstructing a public crossing near Mendon, Missouri, when it was traveling eastbound from Los Angeles to Chicago, the Washington, D.C.-headquartered passenger railroad service company said in a statement.

Eight cars and two locomotives were derailed.

Local authorities were assisting the passengers and an Amtrak incident response team had been activated, the company said.