Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Train Wreck in Louisville
#1
Jewish Hospital Medical Center South in northern Bullitt County is reporting that it is treating five people for the effects of the chemicals from the train fire. None of the injuries are said to be life threatening.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team of investigators to Bullitt County to look into the cause of this derailment.

From the Associated Press:

SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A fiery freight train derailment
south of Louisville on Tuesday shut down a nearby highway and
forced evacuations of homes, businesses and a school.
There were no immediate reports of injuries from the wreck that
occurred about 8:45 a.m. EST, but the fumes caused several people
to seek treatment at a local hospital, authorities said.
The blaze produced a massive column of black smoke in the area,
which has a mixture of residential, industrial and rural
properties. Television footage showed several blazing cars stacked
across the rail lines and flaming liquid flowing down ditches from
the mangled tanker cars.
Residents and businesses within a mile radius of the fire were
evacuated, including an elementary school.
At least eight tanker cars were burning, Bullitt County
sheriff's detective Scotty McGaha said. The cause was under
investigation.
Three cars involved in the fire were carrying the chemicals
cyclohexane and ethyloxate, Bullitt County Emergency Management
spokesman Jeremey Urekew said. Both chemicals are volatile, but
neither poses a serious health threat, Urekew said.
"These substances themselves are pretty toxic, but when they
burn they break down a whole lot," Urekew said. "This fire is
going to burn itself out."
Two other cars were carrying hazardous materials that could pose
an environmental threat, but they were not near the fire, he said.
CSX Corp. spokesman Gary Sease said the train - with four
locomotives and 80 cars - was headed to Louisville from Birmingham,
Ala. Forty-one cars were loaded with freight and the rest were
empty, he said.
Eleven people were treated at Jewish Hospital Medical Center
South for symptoms related to the fire, said hospital spokesman
Brian Doheny.
Authorities also shut down an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 65,
Kentucky State Police dispatcher Joey Mattingly said.
Bullitt County resident Daymon Strange said he was outside his
home less than a half-mile from the crash site when he heard an
explosion.
"I turned around and looked and there was fire at least 500
feet in the air," he said in a telephone interview. "I've never
seen such a fire. It was huge."
Strange said he smelled the fumes even though they were blowing
away from his home.
"You can taste it and feel it in your lungs when you go
outside," he said.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who flew over the area in a Blackhawk
helicopter with the Kentucky Air National Guard, said he has not
determined whether a state of emergency will be declared.
"We will do an evaluation to see if there needs to be an
emergency designation," Fletcher said.
The Kentucky National Guard said it mobilized 20 to 25 soldiers
and airmen to check air quality.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to Kentucky
to investigate the derailment.
It was the second fiery train crash in Kentucky in two days. On
Monday, four runaway rail cars struck two parked locomotives in
central Kentucky, catching fire and spilling a chemical that
prompted a limited evacuation.


http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/5208111.html
**Send me a pm if you have any questions or comments**

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
#2
Looked pretty nasty one of the news sites!
#3
I also heard there was one in Cincy last night to.
#4
CSX is falling apart!!

Forum Jump:

Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)