A seventh person has died as a result of the crash of a Washington, DC to New York City Amtrak train, which derailed at 9:23pmET in Philadelphia. “It is an absolute disastrous mess,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in a news conference around 11:40pm.
The cable news networks began reporting the news at 9:55pmET and, with the help of their Philadelphia affiliates, continued with coverage into the night. 243 people were believed to be on board, including 5 crew. Most passengers were able to self-evacuate. Five people died on the scene. Six were transported to hospitals with critical injuries, where one later died. The seventh victim was found in the wreckage Wednesday afternoon. At least 200 Philadelphia police personnel rushed to the scene to attend to victims.
“We do not know what happened here. We do not know why this happened,” said Nutter. The NTSB is on the scene.