No Thai casualties in Philadelphia train derailment

BANGKOK, May 13 (TNA) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has quoted the Thai Consulate General in New York as initially reporting that there were no Thai casualties in a derailment of Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 in Philadelphia City of the US Pennsylvania State. Foreign Ministry Spoksman Sek Wannamethee, who is also Director-General of the ministry's Department of Information, told journalists that the incident took place at 9:20pm on Tuesday (May 12) (local time), or 8:20am on Wednesday (May 13) (Thailand time), saying that the train departed from Washington DC and was heading for New York. The spokesman noted that the Thai consulate-general was, however, monitoring more reports from the incident. The derailment reportedly killed five people and injured at least 50 others, including six seriously wounded ones. The train was carrying about 240 passengers when it failed to negotiate a curve, causing about 8-10 carriages to be thrown off the track. Rescuers were using flashlights and ladders to search for victims from the derailed vehicles in the dark. CNN quoted a source in the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as saying that there had not been evidence to link the incident to a terror act and the incident happened when the weather was normal. Amtrak has suspended all trains between New York and Philadelphia. (TNA)