'Absolute disastrous mess': 5 dead, at least 50 injured after Amtrak train derails

Armed with flashlights, firefighters went from car to car early Wednesday morning, looking for passengers inside an Amtrak train that derailed and tipped over in Philadelphia -- killing at least five.Another 50 were hospitalized, including six in critical condition, authorities said. The train was carrying 238 passengers and 5 crew members.

"It is an absolute, disastrous mess," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter of the crash site.The Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 was traveling from Washington to New York when it derailed north of Philadelphia about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The cause wasn't immediately known.

"We do not know what happened here. We do not know why it happened," Nutter said. There was no indication the derailment was a result of an impact with another train, he said. And so far, there's nothing to indicate the incident was an act of terrorism.

Early Wednesday morning, investigators in orange vests walked up and down the track, especially near a part where it curves.The area of the crash is known as Frankford Junction. In 1943, it was the site of one of the nation's deadliest train accidents when The Congressional Limited crashed, killing 79 people.

Firefighters arrived to find seven cars and the train's engine either turned over or upside down. Most of the passengers were able to escape, climbing out of windows to safety. Crews had to cut through the cars to get to others."Until the second of impact, everything was normal," passenger Daniel Wetrin told CNN. "Then it was just chaos. People had bloodied faces."

 

The moment of impact

 

Jeremy Wladis was in the very last car, eating.

"The next thing you know, the train starts doing funny things, and it gradually starts getting worse and worse," he said.

Then, things started flying -- phones, laptops. "Then people."

"There were two people in the luggage rack above my head. Two women, catapulted [there]."

Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy tweeted he was aboard the train when it crashed. "Helping others," he said. "Pray for those injured." Later he shared this photo that showed a firefighter inside the train.

 

'Please make it stop'

 

Janna D'Ambrisi was in the second-to-last car, reading her book when she felt the jolt."Suddenly it felt like we were going a little too fast around a curve," she said.The car she was in started to tip and she was thrown onto another girl."People started to fall on us," D'Ambrisi said."I just held on to her leg and sort of bowed my head and I was kind of praying, 'Please make it stop.'"

Fortunately, her car didn't tip over and she was able to make it out safely.Amtrak shut down rail service between Philadelphia and New York City for the night. It set up a special number for those seeking information on friends and family aboard the train: 1-800-523-9101.

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com