Amtrak Train Derails in Philadelphia, Killing at Least 5 and Injuring Dozens

NYT Now: 

PHILADELPHIA — At least five people were killed and dozens more injured when an Amtrak train carrying 243 people derailed here on Tuesday, shutting down service in the Northeast region, the authorities said. 

The train was headed from Washington to New York when it derailed around 9:30 p.m., officials said during a news conference late Tuesday. Forty-nine people, including six in critical condition, were taken to area hospitals, officials said. 

“It is an absolute disastrous mess,” Philadelphia’s mayor, Michael Nutter, said. “I have never seen anything like this in my life.” 

First responders carrying flashlights and ladders moved frantically from car to car helping passengers off the train. The train had seven cars, including the engine, which separated from the other cars after the crash, officials said. Six cars overturned, and some were so badly mangled that firefighters had to use hydraulic tools to rescue people trapped inside. A steel utility pole had crashed onto one of them, and mangled and twisted track could be seen near the wreckage. 

Amtrak identified the train as Northeast Regional Train 188 and said it was carrying 238 passengers and five crew members. Most people were able to walk away from the crash site, the mayor said, but officials would not say whether all of the passengers and crew had been evacuated. 

“We need to match up the manifest with all the individuals who walked off,” the mayor said. 

The cause of the crash was not known. It occurred at Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane. 

Injured passengers were taken from the scene in ambulances and on buses to area hospitals. Aria Health, which has two hospitals nearby, said it had received a total of 59 patients, including walk-ins. Maria Cerceo Slade, a spokeswoman, said most of the patients had suffered minor injuries. Outside Temple University Hospital, doctors and nurses waited for patients, who were rushed into the emergency room on stretchers and in wheelchairs. A hospital spokeswoman said she was not able to provide a patient count. 

Video from the scene showed several train cars laying on their sides and wreckage strewn about. 

The derailment prompted a massive response from several federal, state and local agencies. Hundreds of police officers and firefighters responded, as did officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security. 

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to the crash site. The team was expected to arrive on Wednesday morning and give a news briefing. 

Gov. Tom Wolf said he was in contact with state and local officials and was closely monitoring the situation. 

An Amtrak spokesman said an emergency hot line, 800-523-9101, had been set up for family members of anyone who may have been on the train. 

Former Representative Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, who served in Congress from 2007 to 2011, was on the train. He said on Twitter that he was helping fellow passengers, adding, “Pray for those injured.” 

Jon Hurdle reported from Philadelphia, and Ashley Southall from New York.