A 68-year-old passenger was killed and more than 60 others were injured when an Amtrak passenger train jumped its tracks in a swampy area of the Mississippi Delta, the first deadly accident involving the rail line in two years.

The nine-car train, traveling from New Orleans to Chicago, derailed Tuesday night near the town of Flora, tumbling off a trestle five or six feet approximately 25 miles north of Jackson.

Coroner Ricky Shivers identified the dead passenger as Clara L. Downs, 68, from Chicago. Lee Stokes, of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said it appeared about 65 people suffered "minor to critical injuries."

Many rescuers were forced to use off-road vehicles to reach the accident site because of woods and soggy ground. Searchers used flash lights and portable lighting as they moved from car to car checking for more injured.

Dan Stessel, a spokesman for Amtrak, said 68 passengers and 12 crew members were on the train, the City of New Orleans. He said he had no information on what caused the accident.

All passengers and crew were accounted for late Tuesday.

Stokes said that while the derailment was believed to be an accident, the FBI has sent agents to the scene. Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency.

The train consisted of one engine, one baggage car, seven passenger cars and one unoccupied passenger car. Amtrak said all nine cars derailed, with the first seven coming to rest on their sides. The locomotive remained on the track.

Dr. Bob Galli, head of the University of Mississippi Medical Center trauma center, said bus loads of "walking wounded" were taken to area hospitals. UMC officials said some of the injured were complaining of back pain.

It was Amtrak's first deadly accident since April 18, 2002, when an Auto Train derailed at Crescent City, Fla., killing four and injuring more than 150.

Stessel said the train made several stops after leaving New Orleans about 13:55 EDT, including Jackson. He said the train derailed at about 19:00 EDT, near the Yazoo-Madison county line, before its scheduled stop in Yazoo City.

The train derailed on tracks owned, operated and maintained by Canadian National Railway, Amtrak said.