Fatal Amtrak Train Derailment in Port Richmond at Frankford Junction … 6 People Reported Dead

Train 188 from Washington to New York with 238 passengers and five crew members aboard derailed …

Six people have now been declared dead and over 146 injured following the Amtrak train derailment in Port Richmond.  Of the 238 passengers on board the train, 6 have died, 8 passengers remain in critical condition at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and many other passengers were injured suffering fractures ti limbs. The accident happened at about 9:28 PM, with six cars overturning and the engine separating from the rest of the train. It is unknown what called the derailment; however, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is launching a full team to investigate.

At least six people were killed and dozens injured, eight critically, when a northbound Amtrak train derailed Tuesday night in Port Richmond.

In the moments after the derailment, scores of emergency personnel swarmed over more than a half-dozen toppled train cars, trying to reach the dazed, the injured, the dying.

Some people were reported trapped in the train, and crews cut into the cars to try to free the injured.

At a briefing early Wednesday morning, with Gov. Wolf at his side, Mayor Nutter reported that five people had died and that 65 people were taken to area hospitals, 54 of them to Temple University Hospital.

Herbert Cushing, chief medical officer at Temple, reported later that a sixth person, who had suffered a massive chest injury, had died. Eight other patients were in critical condition.

Train 188, bound to New York from Washington with 238 passengers and five crew members aboard, had left 30th Street Station minutes before the accident, which occurred near a curve at Wheatsheaf Lane and I-95.

Amtrak has suspended travel between Philadelphia and New York.  Individuals with questions about their friends and family on train 188 should call Amtrak’s Incident Hotline at 800-523-9101.

UPDATE I: ‘Absolute disastrous mess’: 6 dead, 146 injured after Amtrak train derails.

“It is an absolute, disastrous mess,” Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said of the crash site. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 was traveling from Washington to New York when it derailed in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The impact tore cars apart, sending seven of them flying from the tracks, and left the engine a mangled mess.

“We have confirmed an engine and all seven cars derailed,” a U.S. Department of Transportation representative told CNN on Wednesday, adding that the engine and two cars were left standing upright, three cars were tipped on their sides, and one was nearly flipped over on its roof. The seventh one is “leaning hard,” they said.

RAW VIDEO from aboard the  New York-Bound Amtrak Train Derails Near Philadelphia

UPDATE II: Amtrak cancels Baltimore, Northeast Corridor trains after derailment.

Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service between New York and Philadelphia is suspended after a deadly derailment Tuesday night just north of Philadelphia.

Amtrak trains 151 and 181 are canceled Wednesday, and passengers in Baltimore are advised to use MARC trains 517 and 523, Maryland Transit Administration officials said. All MARC Penn Line service will run as scheduled.

Amtrak will run on a modified schedule between Washington and Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and New York and Boston.

UPDATE III: Official Amtrak Blog – Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 at North Philadelphia

We are deeply saddened by the loss of life from Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 that derailed north of Philadelphia Tuesday evening. We ask the news media to be respectful of our customers, our employees, and their families.

There were approximately 238 passengers and 5 crew members on board. Individuals with questions about their friends and family on this train should call the Amtrak Incident Hotline 800-523-9101. Amtrak has also established a Family Assistance Center to work closely with family and friends of individuals on the train. Local emergency responders are on the scene and an investigation is ongoing.

Patrick J. Murphy PA @PatrickMurphyPA