Death toll rises to eight in US train derailment

Washington: Rescue workers in Philadelphia on Thursday found a body in the wreckage of the passenger train that derailed this week in the US city, bringing the death toll to eight, officials said.

Authorities said that with the discovery of the corpse, they now believe they have accounted for all 243 people who were on board the train when it crashed late Tuesday.

"We have confirmed eight deceased from this horrible tragedy," Mayor Michael Nutter told reporters.

"But all individuals that we had any reason to believe were on that train have now been accounted for, and we know their whereabouts completely."

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said rescuers found the body with the help of a cadaver-sniffing dog. The victim´s identity was not released.

Investigators say the Amtrak train was traveling at more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour when the engineer slammed on the emergency brakes just before it derailed.

The speed was more than twice the approved limit, and the brakes barely slowed the train before the cars tumbled off the track.

Besides the eight fatalities, more than 200 people were injured in the wreck. (AFP)