At least two people were killed and another 70 injured after an Amtrak passenger train collided with a freight train in the southeastern US state of South Carolina early Sunday, officials said.

Local authorities confirmed that the two deaths occurred in the Amtrak train, not the freight train run by the CSX.

A spokesman for the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said that injuries ranged from minor cuts to broken bones.

Amtrak said in a statement that its passenger train, operating between New York and Miami, came in contact with a CSX freight train at around 2:35 am in Cayce, South Carolina.

"The lead engine derailed, as well as some passenger cars," the statement said, "There were eight crew members and approximately 139 passengers, with injuries reported."

All passengers were off the train, local police said. The CSX confirmed the collision in the statement. No immediate information is available about the CSX train.

Officials said that there was a spill of 5,000 gallons (about 1,8927.1 liters) of fuel following the crash, but there was no danger to the public.

The Lexington County Sheriff's Department tweeted that the collusion and derailment occurred near Charleston Highway and Pine Ridge Road.

Local hospitals were treating the injured as emergency responders and police were working on the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it has launched an investigation of the collusion.

It is the latest incident involving an Amtrak train in the past few weeks.

An Amtrak train derailed in the state of Washington late last year, killing three people and injuring dozens.

Last week, an Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat in the state of West Virginia hit a garbage truck near Charlottesville, Virginia, causing one death and two serious injuries.