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NYC-Bound Train Derails In Philadelphia, 6 Dead And Hundreds Injured

by Sean Levinson

At least six people are dead after an Amtrak train heading from Washington to New York derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

The Northeast Regional Train 188 was made up of at least seven cars, all of which derailed, and was carrying 238 passengers and five crew members.

The derailment occurred at around 9:30 pm as the train approached a bend in the track in Port Richmond.

It caused cars to violently separate, with some sustaining so much damage that firefighters had to cut through them to reach passengers, according to The New York Times.

The majority of the passengers, however, were able to crawl out of windows and escape.

A US Department of Transportation spokesperson told CNN three cars were flipped on their sides, the engine and two other cars were standing upright and one was almost completely turned upside down.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter said,

We do not know what happened here. We do not know why it happened.

CNN reports more than 200 people were taken to Temple University Hospital and eight of them are in critical condition.

Many injuries were caused by luggage flying into people.

Jeremy Wladis, who was sitting in the last car, recalled,

There were two people in the luggage rack above my head. Two women, catapulted (there).

Northeast Regional Train 188 was traveling on a path known as the Northeast Corridor, which stretches from Washington to Boston, and it's the country's busiest route for passenger trains.

The train derailed at the same site of the 1943 Congressional Limited train accident, which killed 79 people.

The cause of Tuesday's crash remains unknown, but aging railway infrastructure and equipment are the leading suspects.

Amtrak officials said service through Philadelphia is expected to be put on suspension throughout this week.

The derailment marks Amtrak's ninth wreck just in 2015.

Citations: Amtrak Train Derails in Philadelphia Killing at Least 6 and Injuring Dozens (The New York Times), 6 dead 146 injured after Amtrak train derails (CNN)