News Digest

Amtrak tragedy: 5 dead, dozens injured after train derails near Philly

Federal investigators are beginning to investigate the train accident, which has closed the nation’s busiest rail corridor between New York and Washington, D.C. In addition to the fatalities, more than 140 people were taken to nearby hospitals, six in critical condition. Passengers described a panicked situation as they had to escape through the windows of the mangled and overturned train. Amtrak officials said the cause of the derailment was not known and that it was investigating. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board was expected to arrive at the scene this morning.

It is a devastating scene down there. We walked the entire length of the train area, and the engine completely separated from the rest of the train, and one of the cars is perpendicular to the rest of the cars. It’s unbelievable.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter

According to witness reports, the front of the train was going into a turn when it started to shake before coming to a sudden stop. Passenger Paul Cheung, a manager for the Associated Press, said the train “started to decelerate, like someone had slammed the brake. Then suddenly you could see everything starting to shake.” Hundreds of firefighters and police officers swarmed to the scene to help rescue passengers.

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

Passenger Paul Cheung