Dozens injured and 8 dead after Amtrak train derails near Philadelphia

1. An Amtrak train with 238 passengers partially derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, killing at least eight people and injuring 200 others.
2. The reason for the derailment has not been confirmed yet by officials, but the train was traveling more than twice the speed limit prior to its derailment, the New York Times noted.
3. Amtrak announced that Northeast Corridor trains between Philadelphia and New York were suspended shortly after the accident.
4. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that a team of investigators arrived at the crash site on Wednesday morning.

As rescue efforts began to retrieve dozens of passengers in the dark, the first photos of the deadly accident appeared on Twitter and live video.

#LiveChannel: AERIALS over an Amtrak accident in Philadelphia, PA (@CBSPhilly) pic.twitter.com/4QOj5hlRzb

— CBS Newspath (@cbsnewspath) May 13, 2015

One Amtrak car is absolutely shredded to pieces. Devastating pic from the @AP's @joekaczmarek http://t.co/0AsJmDoszb pic.twitter.com/8jiZJr8DO2

— Brian Ries (@moneyries) May 13, 2015

Videos from passengers show people stumbling through unlit cars:

Video I took moments after crash. People trying to open the door and get off the train. pic.twitter.com/fJ2bxXfmhG

— Janelle Richards (@Janelle_News) May 13, 2015

My train crashed

A video posted by Yameen Allworld "Holladay" (@yameenallworld) on May 12, 2015 at 6:35pm PDT

Among the passengers was Patrick J. Murphy, a former congressman:

Im on @Amtrak train that just crashed. Im ok. Helping others. Pray for those injured.

— Patrick J. Murphy (@PatrickMurphyPA) May 13, 2015

pic.twitter.com/GvooK8lq58

— Patrick J. Murphy (@PatrickMurphyPA) May 13, 2015

Rescue workers are on the scene:

Amtrak train derailment. pic.twitter.com/fAwU7MFrZC— Jonathan Lai (@Elaijuh) May 13, 2015

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf acknowledged the tragedy while thanking emergency crews for their quick action:

My thoughts and prayers are with all involved in the Amtrak train accident in Philadelphia tonight. Thank you to the first responders. - TW

— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) May 13, 2015

Amtrak released an initial statement late Tuesday evening:

@margarita press release here pic.twitter.com/fP0WkBFtY7

— Mark Berman (@markberman) May 13, 2015

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