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The cause of the Amtrak train crash is still under investigation, but the train was said to have been navigating the same curve as the one where one of the worst train accidents in US history happened - 72 years ago.
The Frankford Junction crash , which occurred on 6 September 1943, happened at the intersection of Frankford and Glenwood Avenues; less than a mile from where Amtrak train 188 derailed.
The coincidence was pointed out by Gar Joseph, assistant managing editor of the Philadelphia Daily News.
In the 1943 crash, 79 people were killed when a journal box overheated and an axle snapped in two, catching the underside of a train car and catapulting it upwards. A further 117 people were seriously injured.
Tuesday's crash saw at least five people killed and dozens more injured.
Show all 15 1 /15In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Emergency personnel work at the scene of the deadly train wreck in Philadelphia
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash amtrak2.jpg An aerial view of the train wreck
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Officials work at the site of a derailed Amtrak train in Philadelphia. Rescue workers searched through the debris for more victims of an Amtrak passenger train wreck in Philadelphia that killed six people and injured scores others as investigators sought to determine the cause of the derailment
In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash At least three Philadelphia hospitals confirmed they were receiving injured passengers
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Emergency services search for passengers following an Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash A crime scene investigator looks inside a train car after a train wreck
In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Such was the power of the impact of the crash that one carriage had come to rest perpendicular to the other carriages
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Emergency personnel work the scene of a train wreck
In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Emergency personnel carry an injured person
In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Emergency personnel work the scene of a train wreck
In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Emergency teams at the scene of the crashed train, which was carrying 243 people
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter was at the scene as teams searched for passengers following an Amtrak train crash
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash The train crashed after nightfall, impeding the rescue operation
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In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash A passenger is carried following an Amtrak train crash
In pictures: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Amtrak Philadelphia train crash Members of the Block Church gather supplies to supply emergency personnel working at the wreckage of an Amtrak passenger train
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said, "It's an absolute disastrous mess.
"We do not know what happened here. We do not know why this happened."
Amtrak said there were 238 passengers and five crew members aboard the derailed No 188 train on route from Washington, DC, to New York.
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