Death toll rises to 7 in US train derailment
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) At least seven people were killed and more than 200 others injured when a passenger train derailed in the U.S. city of Philadelphia, officials said.
No official statement has been made as to what caused the accident, but, according to media reports, the train may have been going twice as fast as it should have.
The New York-bound Amtrak train was traveling at more than 100 miles an hour as it entered a sharp curve where it derailed, The Wall Street Journal said, citing two individuals "with knowledge of the investigation" launched by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The maximum speed limit at the curve is 50 miles per hour, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The new finding reportedly came from the train's data recorder that was recovered from the wreckage.
The engine and all seven cars of the train carrying 238 passengers and five crew left the tracks in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia at around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night (GMT0145).
The body of a seventh victim was retrieved from the debris Wednesday, and more than 200 injured have received treatment since Tuesday night, said authorities, who did not rule out the possibility of more victims at the crash site.
"We are heartbroken by what we have experienced here," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said Wednesday morning. "We have not experienced anything like this in modern times."
The identities of the victims have not been revealed, but one was reportedly a student at the U.S. Naval Academy and another was a staffer of The Associated Press news agency.
"We mourn the loss of our @AP colleague Jim Gaines, video software architect, in the Amtrak accident," the news agency said on Twitter.
President Barack Obama said in a statement that he and first lady Michelle Obama were "shocked" to hear of the tragedy
"From Washington, DC and Philadelphia to New York City and Boston, this is a tragedy that touches us all," he said, referring to Amtrak's heavily traveled northeast corridor.
Vice President Joe Biden, who used the rail system for almost 40 years to travel between his home in Delaware and Washington while serving as a U.S. Senator, said that the crash victims "could have been any one of our parents, children, or someone from one of our communities."
"Amtrak is like a second family to me, as it is for so many other passengers," he said in a statement. "I've come to know the conductors, engineers, and other regulars-men and women riding home to kiss their kids goodnight-as we passed the flickering lights of each neighborhood along the way."
Services between Philadelphia and New York City remained suspended Wednesday, Amtrak said.
No official statement has been made as to what caused the accident, but, according to media reports, the train may have been going twice as fast as it should have.
The New York-bound Amtrak train was traveling at more than 100 miles an hour as it entered a sharp curve where it derailed, The Wall Street Journal said, citing two individuals "with knowledge of the investigation" launched by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The maximum speed limit at the curve is 50 miles per hour, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The new finding reportedly came from the train's data recorder that was recovered from the wreckage.
The engine and all seven cars of the train carrying 238 passengers and five crew left the tracks in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia at around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night (GMT0145).
The body of a seventh victim was retrieved from the debris Wednesday, and more than 200 injured have received treatment since Tuesday night, said authorities, who did not rule out the possibility of more victims at the crash site.
"We are heartbroken by what we have experienced here," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said Wednesday morning. "We have not experienced anything like this in modern times."
The identities of the victims have not been revealed, but one was reportedly a student at the U.S. Naval Academy and another was a staffer of The Associated Press news agency.
"We mourn the loss of our @AP colleague Jim Gaines, video software architect, in the Amtrak accident," the news agency said on Twitter.
President Barack Obama said in a statement that he and first lady Michelle Obama were "shocked" to hear of the tragedy
"From Washington, DC and Philadelphia to New York City and Boston, this is a tragedy that touches us all," he said, referring to Amtrak's heavily traveled northeast corridor.
Vice President Joe Biden, who used the rail system for almost 40 years to travel between his home in Delaware and Washington while serving as a U.S. Senator, said that the crash victims "could have been any one of our parents, children, or someone from one of our communities."
"Amtrak is like a second family to me, as it is for so many other passengers," he said in a statement. "I've come to know the conductors, engineers, and other regulars-men and women riding home to kiss their kids goodnight-as we passed the flickering lights of each neighborhood along the way."
Services between Philadelphia and New York City remained suspended Wednesday, Amtrak said.
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