A passenger train has derailed in
Philadelphia, killing at least five
people and injuring dozens of
others, officials in the US city say.
Up to 10 carriages of the Washington-New
York Amtrak service went off the track on
Tuesday evening.
Emergency officials and fire-fighters are at
the scene looking for passengers who may
be trapped in the wreckage.
More than 240 people were on board
Train 188, the officials say. It is not known
what caused the derailment.
The National Transportation Safety Board
said it was dispatching a team of
investigators to the crash site.
'Mangled up'
The train derailed in a suburb of
Philadelphia, shortly after leaving the
city's main station.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said
at least five people died.
"It is a devastating scene," he told
reporters. "Never seen anything like this
in my life."
"We walked the entire length of the train
area. The engine [is] completely separated
from the rest of the train and one of the
cars is perpendicular to the rest of the
cars. It's unbelievable."
Mr Nutter also said that, according to
preliminary information, 243 people were
on the train. Not all had been accounted
for, he said.
A fire official was quoted as saying that
more than 50 people were taken to
hospital, six of them critically injured.
Television pictures from the scene showed
injured passengers being taken away on
stretchers and fire-fighters using ladders
to search for those trapped in wreckage.
Many others appeared to have minor
injuries.
Patrick Murphy, a former US
congressman, tweeted that he was on the
train when it crashed.
"Im on @Amtrak train that just crashed.
Im ok. Helping others. Pray for those
injured," he wrote.
Associated Press employee Paul Cheung
said he was fortunate to be at the back of
the train and the front of it "looks pretty
bad", the news agency reported.
Mr Cheung said he saw "some people
mangled up".
He said just before the crash the train
"started to decelerate, like someone had
slammed the brake".
"Then suddenly you could see everything
starting to shake.. You could see people's
stuff flying over me."
Mr Cheung added that the front of the
train was "a complete wreck. The whole
thing is like a pile of metal".
The crash took place close to the scene of
one of the worst rail accidents in US
history. In 1943, 79 people were killed
when a train travelling from Washington
to New York derailed.
Amtrak is a national publicly funded rail
service, serving tens of millions of people every year.
Philadelphia, killing at least five
people and injuring dozens of
others, officials in the US city say.
Up to 10 carriages of the Washington-New
York Amtrak service went off the track on
Tuesday evening.
Emergency officials and fire-fighters are at
the scene looking for passengers who may
be trapped in the wreckage.
More than 240 people were on board
Train 188, the officials say. It is not known
what caused the derailment.
The National Transportation Safety Board
said it was dispatching a team of
investigators to the crash site.
'Mangled up'
The train derailed in a suburb of
Philadelphia, shortly after leaving the
city's main station.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said
at least five people died.
"It is a devastating scene," he told
reporters. "Never seen anything like this
in my life."
"We walked the entire length of the train
area. The engine [is] completely separated
from the rest of the train and one of the
cars is perpendicular to the rest of the
cars. It's unbelievable."
Mr Nutter also said that, according to
preliminary information, 243 people were
on the train. Not all had been accounted
for, he said.
A fire official was quoted as saying that
more than 50 people were taken to
hospital, six of them critically injured.
Television pictures from the scene showed
injured passengers being taken away on
stretchers and fire-fighters using ladders
to search for those trapped in wreckage.
Many others appeared to have minor
injuries.
Patrick Murphy, a former US
congressman, tweeted that he was on the
train when it crashed.
"Im on @Amtrak train that just crashed.
Im ok. Helping others. Pray for those
injured," he wrote.
Associated Press employee Paul Cheung
said he was fortunate to be at the back of
the train and the front of it "looks pretty
bad", the news agency reported.
Mr Cheung said he saw "some people
mangled up".
He said just before the crash the train
"started to decelerate, like someone had
slammed the brake".
"Then suddenly you could see everything
starting to shake.. You could see people's
stuff flying over me."
Mr Cheung added that the front of the
train was "a complete wreck. The whole
thing is like a pile of metal".
The crash took place close to the scene of
one of the worst rail accidents in US
history. In 1943, 79 people were killed
when a train travelling from Washington
to New York derailed.
Amtrak is a national publicly funded rail
service, serving tens of millions of people every year.
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