An engineer’s sexuality is being blamed for a fatal train crash that killed seven people and injured over 200.

An Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, leading to the fatalities.

The train was later revealed to be going twice the usual speed limit – approaching 106 miles per hour on a part of the track usually limited to 50 due to a curve.

However, some anti-gay activists have blamed openly gay engineer Brandon Bostian’s sexuality for causing the crash.

The engineer claims he cannot remember the crash after experiencing serious head trauma – but some have also seized on his gay rights activism as ‘proof’ of mental illness.

Mr Bostian likes a number of gay-themed pages on Facebook and was interviewed at a same-sex marriage protest in 2012.

Right-wing blogger Charles C Johnson claimed: “Gays have a higher rate of mental illness than do straights. You decide if engineer’s homosexuality is worth noting. I report it.

“It is reasonable to ask if this night shift #amtrak188 train driver was on meth or had history with it, given gay proclivities to it.”

The Westboro Baptist Church have also seized on the link, branding Mr Bostian a “fag”.

Tabloids previously questioned the sexuality of a pilot responsible for March’s GermanWings plane crash, that killed 150 people.