An Amtrak passenger train heading to New York derailed in north Philadelphia on Tuesday night, killing at least five people.
Michael Nutter is Mayor of Philadelphia.
"Early this evening, rather, Amtrak train number 188, which originated from Washington DC, northbound to New York City, derailed."
According to Amtrak, the train was carrying 238 passengers and five crew members. More than 140 people were hospitalised, six of them in critical condition.
Jesse Wilson, Philadelphia's Deputy Fire Commissioner, describes what he saw.
"I've never seen anything so devastating. They're in pretty bad shape. You can see that they've completely completely derailed from the track. They've been destroyed completely. The aluminum shell has been destroyed. And they've been overturned completely. Again, I don't want to speculate on the cause, but it is a devastating scene down there."
Amtrak service has been suspended between New York City and Philadelphia.
The cause of the accident is still unknown.
