Passenger train derailment kills at least five

At least five people are dead while more than 140 others were evaluated or treated in hospital after a passenger train carrying 243 people derailed in Philadelphia around 10 pm last night.  Six people have critical injuries.

The engine and every passenger car in the 6-car Amtrak train travelling from Washington, DC to New York City went off the rails.  Several cars were on their sides, with the front of the train being described as a mangled wreck.

It happened in an area where there is a big curve in the rails, and one passenger says he felt the brakes slam on just before the disaster.

Transportation Safety Board investigators are looking into the cause. The incident has shut down America’s busiest rail corridor and is affecting morning commuter trains in Philadelphia.