PHILADELPHIA—At least five people were killed when a northbound Amtrak train carrying 238 passengers to New York derailed and crashed here Tuesday night, overturning several cars and injuring dozens more.
“It is an absolute disastrous mess,” Philadelphia MayorMichael Nuttersaid at a news conference.
Six people were critically injured and dozens more were hurt in the accident, officials said. The train also was carrying five crew members.
Emergency personnel transport a person at the scene of a train wreck Tuesday night in Philadelphia.Photo:MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS Northeast regional train 188 originated in Washington and was due in New York about 10:30 p.m. The crash occurred about 9:30 p.m., shortly after the train left Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, near a curve in the tracks in the city’s Port Richmond section.
More than 120 firefighters and 200 police responded to the chaotic scene that included several badly mangled railcars, officials said.
Rescue workers used hydraulic tools to help some trapped passengers escape from the wreckage, the mayor said.
“We have train cars that are completely overturned on their sides,” Mr. Nutter said. “It is completely devastating.”
The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known. Amtrak said on Twitterthat all train service was canceled for the night between Philadelphia and New York.
Six cars and the engine completely derailed, and several cars were mangled, Mr. Nutter said.
Temple University Hospital, which has a trauma center, said it had received 10 patients but didn’t describe the extent of their injuries. About 36 people were taken to Aria Health Frankford hospital, while 23 people were taken to Aria Health Torresdale hospital, a spokeswoman for Aria Health said.
Many of the patients at the Frankford campus walked in on their own and had lacerations, she said. She didn’t have details about the Torresdale patients.
Hahnemann University Hospital received two patients. Former Pennsylvania Rep.Patrick Murphywas on the train and said it began jerking and then rocking from side to side.
“I was holding on to the table for dear life, and because of force just got thrown to the other side of the car head first into the window, and my shoulder hit the guy who was there,” Mr. Murphy, who wasn’t hurt, told MSNBC. Mr. Murphy said a man in an adjoining car couldn’t move his leg and was in “not good shape.”
The crash occurred in a section of the Northeast Corridor known as Frankford Junction, an Amtrak official said.
While the official declined to speculate on whether speed or another factor may have contributed to the derailment, the official said a sharp curve in this area has a speed restriction of 55 miles an hour.
Jeffrey Sheridan,a spokesman for Gov.Tom Wolf,said Tuesday the governor was gathering details about the derailment, as was the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Federal Railroad Administration said it was sending at least eight investigators to the scene, including acting AdministratorSarah Feinberg.
Mr. Nutter said the accident resulted in a four-alarm response from area fire stations. He described the accident as a Level 3 mass-casualty incident based on the number of people involved.
—Betsy Morris contributed to this article.
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