May 13--In the moments after Amtrak 188, traveling from Washington to New York, derailed in Philadelphia, dazed survivors began sharing images and video from the scene. Here's a look:
Patrick Murphy, who hosts MSNBC's "Taking the Hill" and served in Congress from 2007 to 2011, said he was on the train. He posted dramatic photos on Twitter showing rescue workers and injured passengers.
@Amtrak @msnbc @NBCNews pray for these passengers. pic.twitter.com/mksZNy7eqo
-- Patrick J. Murphy (@PatrickMurphyPA) May 13, 2015
pic.twitter.com/GvooK8lq58
-- Patrick J. Murphy (@PatrickMurphyPA) May 13, 2015
Video apparently taken by another passenger shows people attempting to move in one of the damaged cars.
"I got you, OK," one man says. "Keep crawling."
"Where am I crawling to?" asks another person.
"Crawl forward, sir," another man replies.
My train crashed
A video posted by Yameen Allworld "Holladay" (@yameenallworld) on May 12, 2015 at 6:35pm PDT
Passenger Janelle Richards, who is a producer for "NBC Nightly News," tweeted a video she took on a train car, moments after the crash, showing passengers attempting to push open a door and exit the train.
"Go, go, go, go," a man says.
"Can you help me?" a woman pleads.
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
"Loud crash. Smoke filled the train. People that were able to walk to an exit tried to get door open and climb off," Richards tweeted.
Associated Press manager Paul Cheung, who was on the train, tweeted a single photo of what appeared to be two jackknifed train cars in the dark, adding, "I'm ok."
I'm ok. pic.twitter.com/OBz1INkphc
-- Paul Cheung (@pcheung630) May 13, 2015
Cheung told the AP that the train had "started to decelerate, like someone had slammed the brake."
"Then suddenly you could see everything starting to shake," he said. "You could see people's stuff flying over me."
Cheung said he escaped from the back of his car. Some cars were tipped on their sides, and passengers tried to exit through the windows, he said.
Beth Davidz, a New York-based journalist and developer, shared a photo of several people standing and sitting on top of a train car, which appeared to be on its side. A few people looked on from the tracks below.
Was just on #Amtrak train that crashed pic.twitter.com/NSGh1ZfW1o
-- Beth Davidz (@bethdavidz) May 13, 2015
Davidz also tweeted photos of a throng of rescuers rushing to help survivors.
EMT helping survivors taking them to the hospital #amtrak #philly pic.twitter.com/SfyFJJjNqO
-- Beth Davidz (@bethdavidz) May 13, 2015
Davidz said she felt lucky that she had been on her cellphone and was not sitting in the quiet car, which she noted was "not looking good."
Hours later, Davidz tweeted that she had been released from the hospital. "No wallet, one shoe, so grateful," she wrote.
Journalists arriving to cover the wreck also shared images and video of the devastation.
Freelance photographer Joe Kaczmarek, working for the Associated Press, used the live video streaming app Periscope to broadcast raw video of the wreckage.
Other reporters tweeted photos of medics treating victims and the massive police and paramedic response to the scene.
More scenes of first responders tending to victims. pic.twitter.com/QsLYnh2mhN
-- Vinny Vella (@Vellastrations) May 13, 2015
Massive crime scene. Cops just loaded body into van. pic.twitter.com/oxwhxpcXBB
-- Vinny Vella (@Vellastrations) May 13, 2015
One passenger told Matt Rivers, a reporter with KYW-TV in Philadelphia, "People were panicking. A lot of screaming, a lot of shouting because it was completely dark," the man said.
Passenger says he feels lucky to be alive, describes what he saw aboard toppled train car pic.twitter.com/kKB99LTr3T
-- Matt Rivers (@MattRiversCBS3) May 13, 2015
The passenger told Rivers that he'd removed the glass from one side of the train car so people could exit, but saw that the drop to the ground was too far. When he and other passengers exited on the other side of the car, he said, he wasn't even wearing any shoes.
"We're OK," the man said. "A few bruises."
Times staff writer Ryan Parker contributed to this report.
UPDATES
May 13, 11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with additional posts from reporters who arrived on scene.
This article was originally published at 9:16 a.m.
