tonight, the train disaster here in philadelphia. a tragedy on the tracks leaves at least seven dead 200 injured, some in critical condition. the train was going faster than 100 miles an hour. twice the speed limit around a sharp curve. the victims including a navy midshipman a father of two traveling on business. and the survivors describing the horror inside the train. the panic to get out and to pull the injured to safety. also tonight, vanished the frantic search for six american marines on an aid mission in nepal. missing now for more than a day. what happened to that chopper? nightly news begins right now.

good evening. there is no better way to show you the scope of our lead story than tonight than from the air. we're talking about the deadly derailment of an amtrak regional train along the busiest corridor in the nation. six cars lying on their side. the locomotive was put back on the tracks a short while ago. we can see ntsb investigators working the scene. as the camera pulls out, you get a sense of the curve there. that curve we now know was being negotiated at a very high rate of speed. at least seven were killed and around 200 injured when that washington to new york train, according to the ntsb jumped the tracks last night. going faster than 100 miles an hour. tonight investigators search for answers, travel has been disrupted indefinitely for hundreds of

thousands. our team is in place tonight on the ground. to cover it all. we'll start with nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: i am right below you. in fact down the street and over my shoulder is where the wreckage remains. we've still got fire rescue on the scene and the recovery underway. they've had police sniffer dogs in today and cranes in to pull up the cars. they have been concerned there might still be other victims out there that maybe they didn't see or maybe underneath the cars. we also learned today the name of the engineer. he is brandon bostian. he was navigating the curve in the tracks at 106 miles an hour. that is more than double the posted speed limit. on the tracks on philadelphia's nort side today. investigators were picking through the remains of amtrak train 188. already data from the critical black box suggests the train was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour

twice the posted speed limit as it entered the curve. going into the curve he was traveling at 106 miles an hour? >> correct. >> reporter: what happened. >> he put the emergency brakes on the train and. >> reporter: slams on the brakes but it's too late? >> the train derailed so it was too late. >> notify amtrak to shut down the entire northeast corridor. we have people on the tracks and a couple of cars over turned. >> reporter: in pitch black conditions firefighters and police faced an incredible scene. pulling the dead and injured from the twisted wreckage of seven train cars that had gone off the tracks. one of the cars upside down. >> classify this as a mass casualty incident. >> reporter: in all, more than 2 pun00 people injured. >> we have not experienced anything like this in modern times. we will get to the bottom of it and figure out why it happened that will

take some time. >> reporter: on board, 243 passengers and crew members, many of them returning home. enoughcluding iraq war veteran and former pennsylvania congressman patrick murphy who was in the cafe car when it lurched off the tracks. >> at that moment i thought i was a goner. i think most of us did. it was so violent and i'm a 6'1" guy. >> reporter: he pushed out the window and helps others escape. >> there was people crying and screaming for help. >> reporter: also on the train, nightly news producer who shot video of her escape. philadelphia police say so far the engineer has declined to talk to investigators. >> they're going to want to know when he went off duty went to sleep, when he got up when he went on duty. what he did while he was off duty. >> reporter: tonight we're learning the section of track lack adcritical railroad safety feature called

positive train control or ptc which can monitor and slow trains to a safe stop in the event of a emergency. >> we feel that had such a system been installed in this section of track, this accident would not have occurred. >> reporter: amtrak service along the northeast corridor remains suspended. no indication when it will restart. lester. >> all right. tom costello thanks. you mentioned technology and how this could have been prevented. of course we know this train was going at an excess rate of speed. what could have prevented? we asked nbc's peter alexander to take a closer look. >> reporter: why was tha train going so fast? it's still not known. >> it could be a mechanical issue. it could be a lack of awareness or training. it could be an operator issue. >> reporter: last night's crash is similar to this high speed disaster in spain. the train flew off the rails going over 100 miles an hour. twice the speed limit. 79 people were killed. experts insist the

revolutionary technology called ptc could make accident like this a thing of the past. ptc is a sophisticated array of censors and using satellites to track the train's movements and prevent accidents. if the train is going too fast it warns the true. if it doesn't slow down it activates the brake. it stops a train from owing through red signals if the operator is distracted distracted. pede has killed here before. in new york investigators say the escnear fell asleep as his train roared into a sharp curve. as safety improvements go it's on america's most wanted list. sections of the rail line from philadelphia to washington had ptc installed. but not the stresh of track where last night's crash occurred. >> this is exactly the type of incident that ptc is designed to

prevent. so we have seen this before and we will continue to see it again until ptc is installed. >> reporter: amtrak is supposed to have the entire northeast corridor equip would ptc by the end of this year. congress has been fighting over whether to extend the deadline by years. >> peter alexander, peter, thanks. those of us who do business in this part of the country use this rail line especially in the evening. people coming back from business or to see family. there was a young navy midshipman on leave among the victims. stephanie gosk tells us more about those who lost their lives here. >> reporter: justin was a second year midshipman at the naval academy. he was supposed to be home by 10:30. >> they said there was a derailment. i kept calling the hospitals, nothing. >> reporter: this morning his mother got the awful news her son had died. >> he was wonderful. he was absolutely

wonderful. everybody looked up to my son. and there's no other left to say. >> reporter: the 48-year-old father of two was killed on his way home after meetings in d.c. >> he would do things to make your day better. >> reporter: this man who looked at wells fargo and 39-year-old rachel jacobs didn't survive the crash either. four of the seven passengers who died on train 188. bob is missing, too. >> please help me find my dad. >> reporter: today his family printed posters with his picture. others have found their loved ones here at temple university hospital. where the doctor and his team performed surgeries and set bones all night long. >> we're fortunate there weren't deaths. what little i've seen suggested things could have been worse. >> reporter: jeff cutler agrees. he was in the second car and felt it launch into the air. >> i felt like we were

flying. >> reporter: you had time to feel that sensation? >> i recall that sensation. it eventually tipped over with a thud. >> reporter: left with just bruises, he knows he's one of the lucky ones. ten passengers are listed as critical. eight of them are here at temple university. but doctors say that they do not face life threatening situations. lester? >> nbc's stephanie gosk thank you. at 1,000 feet as we look down at the train. it's frightening enough. but imagine being there on the dark of night and trying to find your way out. a member of our team was also on that tremeeam. thankfully she wasn't hurt. i spoke to her about her ordeal. you and i cover these things on a regular

basis. we cover horrible things. what is it like to find yourself in one of them? >> i think i was operating under shock. my first instinct was get to the back door. you remember where it was. you're not that far away. try to get back there and getout. >> you shot a video here in the dark. i'm listening to this how do we get out? it sounds like utter confusion. >> people were panicked. smoke was starting to fill the car. i remember thinking will this blow up? will something catch on fire? >> why did you hear? >> screams, cries. people asking for cell phones. people asking for t shirts. people asking for help. and then once we actually got out, the fear actually only increased. because the next question was, oh, my goodness could another train be coming down these tracks? and then finally, what felt like forever, i saw over a dozen flash

lights flashing in the darkness. i was like first responders was here. >> she's been helping us cover the story. we told you at the top of the broadcast, this is the busiest travel corridor in the country. let me show you by the numbers. amtrak and eight commuter railroads use it carries 750,000 passengers every day. 2,000 trains come through here. shutting down the corridor for one day could cost an estimated $100 million in travel delays and lost productivity. that is why it's so vital and as we look at the picture we have seen fresh rail being laid to the side. they are prepared as soon as the wreckage is cleared to get the tracks back in order. hours after the tragedy here in philadelphia the fight over funding for amtrak flared up. we've got more on that from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: good evening. the shock and tragedy of what happened made a long-standing battle over amtrak funding more raw j emotional.

democrats wanted to see a big increase in funding. in fact they look at the accident and say it's an example of the need to improve our infrastructure. republicans who always argue that amtrak needs to turn a profit and not rely so much on taxpayers would not budge. so democrats had asked for $2.5 billion, republicans actually approved a cut to $1.1 billion. this is really about a battle of differing priorities. republicans say they want to hold the line on domestic spending. democrats who have more constituents who use amtrak say riders need more resources. lester? >> all right. kelly o'donnell tonight. thanks very much. we'll have much more on the train derailment from over philadelphia. there are other big stories we want to get to including the search for marines on an aid mission in nepal. they disappeared over a day ago in a relief mission in nepal.

nbc's katy tur updates us on the story. two thousand trains come through here. shuting it down could cost $100 million in travel delays and lost productivity. as we look at the picture we have seen fresh rail being laid to the side. they are prepared as soon as this wreckage is clear to get the tracks back in order. there is a political element to all of this. hours after the tragedy in philadelphia the fight over funding for amtrak flared up. we've got more on that from nbc's kelly o'donnell. good evening. the shock and tragedy of what happened at philadelphia made a long-standing battle over amtrak funding more raw and emotional. democrats wanted to

see a big increase in funding. in fact they look at the accidents and say it's an example of the need to improve our infrastructure. republicans who always argue that amtrak needs to turn a profit and not rely so much on taxpayers would not budge. democrats had asked for $2.5 billion. republicans approved a cut to $1.1 billion. this is really about a battle of differing priorities. republicans say they want to hold the line on domestic spending and democrats who have more constituents who use amtrak say riders need more resources. lester? >> kelly o'donnell tonight. we'll have much more on this train derailment from over philadelphia. there are other big stories we want to get to, including the search for the six u.s. marines on an aid mission in nepal. they disappeared over a day ago in their helicopter. nbc's katy tur updates us from nepal.

>> reporter: for a second day u.s. military helicopters took off to scour the unforgiving terrain of eastern nepal. looking for a huey like this one that disappeared tuesday while delivering earthquake relief to a remote village. missing are six marines and two nepal ease soldiers. a u.s. defense official says the huey was equipped with an emergency beacon, secure radio and gps, strobes flares and nalmirrors and a satellite phone. there has been no trace. >> some of the communications that they possess require a line of sight. to satellites. and they could be located in the area where the terrain is actually preventing them from broadcasting. >> reporter: the search continues and so does the relief effort. right here was a nine story building this one right here was a

five story building. they were standing yesterday morning. survivors have been pulled from the rubble. but the chances of finding more and of finding that missing huey grow dimmer by the hour. how concerned are you? >> i'm very concerned. i'm concerned as if one of my own children didn't come home at night. >> reporter: katy tur, nbc news katmandu. still ahead, more of our coverage from above the amtrak derailment scene in philadelphia. learn how to get alive in case of emergency. would you know what to

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we remain in the air over philadelphia and the sight of that amtrak derailment. one of the remarkable things you see from this altitude you get a appreciation for the curb as the train leaves downtown philadelphia and comes along here. imagine the train hurdling down the track on that curve at better than 100 miles an hour. imagine you are in that crash. not like an airliner where you've received a safety briefing, would you know what to do to get out alive? we asked nbc's jeff rosen to take a look. >> reporter: the images are frightening. desperate passengers struggling to escape from the mangled train. >> keep crawling okay? >> reporter: yelling in the dark for help. frantically trying to pry open the doors. if this were your train, would you know

how to get out? >> in an emergency there are three ways to get out. >> this is the safety expert for philadelphia's regional rail service. >> every train in the country has emergency signs. if you see the sign you can even open the main door of the train you came in on and follow the destructions. >> reporter: if the engineer or conductor is too busy to open the door you can open it yourself? >> absolutely. >> reporter: lift and pull open, and then push this red handle down and the door is released. i can open it the rest of the way. this is a big drop here. you can open the windows yourself too. >> every train car is maejs exit windows. take the handle pull it and pull the rubber and grab the handle and pull the window towards you. you can go out the window. remember it's a seven to eight foot drop. >> reporter: in most train crashes there is fire and smoke. so how do you get out alive when you can't even see?

recently we filled this car with simulated smoke to show you. >> it's going to be chaotic. you want to get on the floor to breathe. we have glow in the dark striping to take you where your exit is. >> reporter: with more than 2000 train accidents last year alone. tips you may need to survive. jeff rosen, nbc news philadelphia. we're back with more news in a moment including a life and death decision in boston. in a moment including a life and death decision in boston. the off! outdoor refresher course. sunsets. sfx: ding! hello you... and you too. meet "outside"... where the golden hour is approaching along with the buzzy suck-squad. sfx: buzz! it's been a while... but, you can do this. step 1: open door. sfx: ding! step 2: activate off! clip-on. sfx: ding! mosquito protection you don't spray on. sfx: ring radial sound step 3: (ahem) face west. sfx: birds chirping keep bugs off. sfx: thwack! sc johnson, a family company

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as we come back over philadelphia and the derailment site it looks like they have built a road we're assuming they'll use to bring the wreckage of the train cars at some point when they're released by the ntsb. while we watch that we are also watching another big story playing out in boston. it's a life and death decision. now in the hands of a jury in the marathon bombing trial. more from nbc's pete williams. >> reporter: the jury

of seven women and five men deliberated briefly today. and will resume work together. prosecutors say the death penally can bring justice for the marathon bombings. they said dzhokhar tsarnaev acted as a terrorist to make a political point. and that he and his older brother tamerlan were partners in crime and brothers in arms. his lawyers say if not for tamerlan who became radicalized the bombings wouldn't happen. they say he would serve a life sentence in colorado. an eye for an eye is not who we are. his lawyers are hope thag can get one juror to go for life. for the death penalty the jury must be unanimous. >> thanks. a divisive step announced by the vatican today. it will formally recognize palestinian statehood. pope francis has been hitting at it for some time. the u.s. and israel oppose recognizing palestinian. the foreign ministry

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it for us on thanks to our colleagues at wcau for their amazing coverage and for providing these views. i'm lester holt for all of us at nbc news

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