Washington, Oct 31 (IANS): Three people were killed and another was injured early Saturday after an Amtrak train hit a vehicle at a railroad crossing in the U.S. state of South Carolina, local media reported citing fire authorities.

The North Charleston Fire Department received a call just before 2:30 a.m. ET about the incident at the Remount Road railroad crossing in North Charleston, where four people were located near a heavily damaged vehicle, according to media reports. Three of them were pronounced dead on the scene and the fourth was sent to a local hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Amtrak train, which was carrying about 500 passengers at the time of the collision, made an emergency stop after it hit the vehicle, according to a statement by the fire department cited by the reports. No injuries were reported from the passengers, and damage to the train was being assessed by Amtrak.

The cause of the incident was under investigation.

An Amtrak train derailed in late September in northern Montana while travelling from Chicago to Seattle, killing three people and leaving seven others hospitalized.