Mudslide caused San Francisco area train derailment near Sunol, Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO — Union Pacific Railroad officials investigating Monday night’s commuter train derailment east of San Francisco say a mudslide caused the accident.

"It's almost miraculous" that no one died, said Sgt. J.D. Nelson, public information officer with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

As many as nine people were injured in the accident, though none had life-threatening injuries.

"It's unclear whether the mudslide occured as the train was traversing the track or it was already there," said Francisco Castillo, public affairs director for Union Pacific Railroad.

The San Francisco Bay area had been hit with heavy rain on Monday, which caused flooding and mudslides across the region.

The train was traveling near Niles Canyon Road between the cities of Fremont and Sunol when the accident occured.

The first car of the train slide down a 40-foot embankment into Alameda Creek and was partially submerged, Nelson said. All the passengers were led off the train Monday night. The injured were taken to local hospitals and the uninjured were bussed to the country fairground in Pleasanton, Calif., he said.

The Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) train was traveling from San Jose to Stockton, Calif.

Initial reports were that as many as 14 people might have been injured in the accident that derailed two of the train’s five passenger cars. That number was later reduced to nine. There were four with serious but non life-threatening injuries and five with minor injuries, Castillo said.

The train had 214 passengers at the time.

Castillo said several of the passengers were treated by emergency medical personnel on the scene. Others were treated and released at local hospitals.

Eden Medical Center in nearby Castro Valley, Calif. admitted one passenger, a woman who was in good condition but was being held for observation Tuesday morning, said spokeswoman Cindy Dove.

Washington Hospital in Fremont, Calif. received two passengers with minor injuries. One was treated and released and one was still in the hospital in good condition, said spokesman Christopher Brown.

Important commute route

No ACE trains were operating Tuesday, causing long traffic backups along the busy commuter route through the Altamont Pass. The rail line carries on average 5,000 to 6,000 passengers a day, according to Union Pacific.

Crews spent Tuesday pulling the damaged cars back onto the rails, which they hoped to finish by 4:00 Pacific, Castillo said.

The rails themselves were in good condition, with the crews only needing to replace several concrete ties. "The line should be up and running by this evening if everything goes well," Castillo said.

Near miss

In what could have been a tragic ending to the entire episode, a journalist and photographer reporting from near the scene narrowly missed being struck by an out-of-control car as it careened up onto the sidewalk where they were filming Tuesday morning.

Alex Savidge, a reporter with local television station KTVU, was doing a live TV segment about the derailment for the station's morning news show.

His photographer Chip Vaughn yelled "Get out of the way," as a car that had just been involved in a crash plowed through the area where he and Savidge had been standing.

Savidge jumped aside just as the car reached him. Both he and Vaughn were unhurt. The entire incident was caught on camera.