Data Recorders Recovered in Amtrak Train Derailment in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Investigators recovered the so-called black box data recorders from the wreckage of a derailed Amtrak train on Wednesday, while emergency crews searched for more survivors and victims of a crash that killed at least six people and injured more than 200.

The recorders were taken to Amtrak’s operations center in Delaware to download information like the train’s speed, images from a video camera on the engine and a log of when the train’s operator used tools like the brake, throttle and horn, officials said at a news conference.

Passengers who emerged battered and bloodied described a chaotic, terrifying scene, with people thrown against walls, furniture and each other, and luggage and other loose items flying through the air and hitting people.

“It is an absolute disastrous mess,” Mayor Michael A. Nutter said of the scene. “Never seen anything like this in my life.”

By midday, the names of the victims began to trickle out. The United States Naval Academy, confirmed that one of its midshipmen was among the dead, and family members identified him as Justin Zemser of Rockaway Beach, New York, a former student body president at Channel View High School.

“We’re not ready to talk yet. We are just grieving and when we are ready we will be in touch,” said a relative, who did not want to be identified.

The Associated Press said that one of its employees, Jim Gaines, 48, a video software architect who lived in Plainsboro, New Jersey, was another one of those killed.

Mr. Nutter said that the search of the twisted wreck for more people, living or dead, was “still in process,” and that some passengers have not yet been found, but officials were still not sure how many. “We have not completely matched the manifest that we received from Amtrak with the patient or hospital records,” he said.

Some people who congregated at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station said they had not been able to locate loved ones.

One of those unaccounted for, co-workers said, was Rachel Jacobs, chief executive officer of ApprenNet, an education technology company in Philadelphia. On Twitter, the company posted the message, “We are still looking for Rachel & hope she will be with her family soon.”

Philadelphia’s director of emergency management, Samantha Phillips, said, “Our hospitals treated over 200 patients last night and this morning.”

The mayor said the engineer “was injured to some extent” but has spoken to the Philadelphia police about what happened.

The New York-bound train jumped the tracks at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, tossing around the 238 passengers and five crew members, as most of the train’s passenger cars tumbled onto their sides and crumpled. One car was particularly badly mangled, looking like nothing so much as a crushed and torn soda can.