Five killed, scores injured as Amtrak train derails in U.S.

Five killed, scores injured as Amtrak train derails in U.S.

An Amtrak train headed to New York City, United
States (U.S.) derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday
night, mangling the front of it, killing, at least, five
people and injuring several more.

Some passengers climbed out of windows to get
away.

At least 140 people have gone to hospitals to be evaluated or treated.

The train was carrying 243 people from Washington, D.C., to New York City on Tuesday night when it derailed.

A spokesman for Temple University Hospital says at least 36 people injured in the crash have been brought in in varying conditions.

A spokeswoman for Aria Health says its hospital in Frankford got about 26 patients while 50 were brought to its Torresdale hospital.

A spokesman for Hahnemann University Hospital says it has seen about 25 patients.

And a spokesman for Albert Einstein Medical Center says it treated 10 patients.

The spokespeople couldn't give a breakdown of the severity of the injuries.

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Mayor Michael Nutter, who confirmed the deaths,
said the scene was horrific.
“It is an absolute disastrous mess,” he said. “Never
seen anything like this in my life.”

Train 188, a Northeast Regional, had left
Washington, D.C. The front of the train was going
into a turn when it shook.

An Associated Press manager, Paul Cheung, was on
the train and said he was watching Netflix when
“the train started to decelerate, like someone had
slammed the brake.”

“Then suddenly you could see everything starting to
shake,” he said. “You could see people’s stuff flying
over me.”

Cheung said another passenger urged him to escape
from the back of his car, which he did. He said he
saw passengers trying to escape through the
windows of cars tipped on their side.

“The front of the train is really mangled,” he said.
“It’s a complete wreck. The whole thing is like a pile
of metal.”

The cause of the derailment was unknown, but
Amtrak said it was investigating. The area where
the derailment occurred is known as Frankford
Junction and has a big curve.

Police swarming around the crash site, in Port
Richmond, a working-class area, told people to get
back, away from the train. They pleaded with
curious onlookers: “Do NOT go to scene of
derailment. Please allow 1st responders room to
work.”

Roads all around the crash site were blocked off.
Waves of firefighters continuing toward the train
cars, taking people out.

Several injured people, including one man
complaining of neck pain, were rolled away on
stretchers. Others wobbled while walking away or
were put on city buses. An elderly woman was given
oxygen. Dozens of people were hospitalised.

Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy was on the train
and said he helped people. He tweeted photos of
firefighters helping other people in the wreckage.
“Pray for those injured,” he said.

Amtrak said the train was carrying 238 passengers
and five crew members. It said rail service on the
busy Northeast Corridor between New York and
Philadelphia was stopped.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was
gathering information about the derailment.
It said it was launching an investigative team, which
would arrive at site Wednesday morning.

Another Amtrak train crashed on Sunday. That train,
bound for New Orleans, struck a flatbed truck at a
railway crossing in Amite, killing the truck’s driver
and injuring two people on the train.

In March, at least 55 people were injured when an
Amtrak train collided with a tractor-trailer that was
stuck on the tracks in North Carolina.

Port Richmond, the site of Tuesday’s crash, is one of
five neighborhoods in what’s known as
Philadelphia’s River Wards, dense rowhouse
neighborhoods located off the Delaware River.