Deadly Train Wreck in Philadelphia Leaves "Disastrous Mess"

PHILADELPHIA--At least five people were killed and dozens injured when a northbound Amtrak train carrying 238 passengers to New York derailed here Tuesday night in a violent wreck that sheared the engine from the train and overturned cars full of riders.

The engine and all seven cars of Northeast Regional Train 188 derailed at about 9:30 p.m. near a sharp curve in a section of the corridor known as Frankford Junction, an Amtrak official said. The train was carrying five crew members.

Six people were critically injured and dozens more were hurt, officials said.

"It is an absolute disastrous mess," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said at a news conference.

The train originated in Washington and was due in New York about 10:30 p.m. But shortly after leaving Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, the train began to jerk and rock, passengers said.

"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," former Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Murphy, a passenger on the train, told MSNBC. He was uninjured.

More than 120 firefighters and 200 police responded to the chaotic scene that included several badly mangled railcars, officials said.

One car was flipped nearly onto its roof, another was close to toppled, and three were on their sides, the Federal Railroad Administration said. The engine and two cars stayed upright.

Rescue workers used hydraulic tools to help some trapped passengers escape from the wreckage, Mr. Nutter said.

The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known. The Amtrak official declined to speculate on whether the train's speed contributed to the derailment but noted the tight curve in the area has a speed restriction of 55 miles an hour.

Train service was canceled for the night between Philadelphia and New York, Amtrak said. Mayor Nutter said he expected it could be shut down for the rest of the week.

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, and Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia said it received 10 patients.

The FRA said it was sending at least eight investigators to the scene, including acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg. The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter it planned an investigation and would have a team on site by Wednesday morning, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Department of Transportation officials were heading to the scene.

The crash occurred in the Port Richmond section of the city, a mix of residential and industrial buildings along the Delaware River. 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.

The last crash of this magnitude along the heavily-traveled Northeast Corridor occurred in 1987 near Baltimore, Maryland. Sixteen people were killed when a Conrail train ignored signals and collided with an Amtrak train. The accident sparked several safety reforms.

Betsy Morris, Peter Loftus and Kris Maher contributed to this article.

Write to Scott Calvert at [e-mail] and Andrew Tangel at [e-mail]

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