Breaking News: Amtrak Derails Outside Philadelphia, 2 Dead; 35 Injured
- Details
- Category: World News
- Published on Sunday, 03 April 2016 11:24
- Written by Janet Walker
Two are dead and nearly three dozen injured as an Amtrak commuter train, carrying 334 passengers, derailed outside of Philadelphia after striking a backhoe, in Delaware County, Delaware, Maryland, effectively shutting down the Eastern Corridor service.
Amtrak, through the micro messaging platform Twitter indicated knowledge of "the incident involving the Palmetto train 89 south of Philadelphia" and stated they would provide updates "as they become available."
Pennsylvania Emergency Management has confirmed the fatalities were not passengers and indicated one may have been the backhoe operator. The names of the dead are not being released, pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.
The train had departed New York's Penn Station and was headed to Savannah, Georgia.
The Northeast Corridor, currently part of a renovation plan, is the most heavily traveled commuter service in the nation running from Boston, Massachusetts to New York City to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C in under four hours. After renovations are complete train travel to the Nation's capital will be reduced to less than one hour.
Until further notice, the Northeast Corridor line that annually carries nearly 12million passengers has been shut down.
This is a developing story
Sources: various
Image used with permission
