It just happened about 30 minutes ago.
At least 50 people were hurt after an Amtrak train, carrying 240 passenger, derailed and rolled onto its side in the Frankford section of Philadelphia Tuesday night, according to officials.
Eight to ten cars left the tracks near the 2000 block of Wheatsheaf Lane. The Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 was heading to New York from Washington, DC.
According to tweets I've seen rolling by, at least one NBC News producer was on board, along with former Representative Patrick Murphy. Senator Ben Carden had just disembarked at the stop before.
The train was reported to be moving at 60-70 miles per hour at the time of the derailment.
Update: 9:30 pm Philadelphia Mayor Nutter says at least 5 people are dead.
Five people are confirmed dead after a northbound Amtrak passenger train heading from Washington, D.C. to New York City derailed near Philadelphia late Tuesday. Six were critically wounded, and at least 50 additional passengers sustained injuries. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter called the incident “an absolute disastrous mess,” adding “I have never seen anything like it in my life.”
“We do not know what happened here,” Nutter said just before midnight. Nutter said that the train’s engine had completely separated from the train, and that one car was perpendicular to the others.
An estimated 238 passengers and five crew members were on board when approximately 8-10 cars derailed. The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team of investigators to the site. Police officials described the incident as a level-3, mass-casualty event.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and injured in this accident. We are assembling on site and will begin a thorough investigation into the cause of this accident,” Acting Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg said.
Firefighters at the scene described it as devastating, saying the cars came completely off the rails and their outer shells were completely destroyed. Some passengers were only rescued when firefighters brought in hydraulic tools to help lift them to safety.
