by Kevin Hughes, Natural News:
Two train cars ended up in the Mississippi River Thursday, April 27, as a freight train derailed in southwestern Wisconsin. Fortunately, neither of the cars contained hazardous materials.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation said the cars “floated downstream soon after the derailment and passed under the WIS 82/Lansing Causeway before becoming mired along the shore.” The train derailed in Crawford County at about 12:15 p.m.
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BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent said two of the train’s three locomotives and an “unknown number of cars carrying freight of all kinds” derailed on the eastern edge of the river. All crew members were accounted for, with one receiving a medical evaluation. Local outlet WXOW reported that at least four people were taken to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Crawford County Emergency Management’s Marc Myhre said about 20 BNSF Railway cars were involved. Some of the containers that derailed on shore contained paint and lithium ion batteries. But Kent assured residents near the area that “the volumes involved don’t pose a risk to the river or the communities.” She added that BNSF will collaborate with local and state agencies as appropriate.
According to Myhre, any hazardous material aboard the train stayed in place during the derailment and does not present a danger to the public or emergency responders. Together with the Ferryvill and De Soto fire departments, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Crawford County Hazmat team were employed to contain any spillage.
Meanwhile, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department informed the public via its Facebook page that there was “no need for evacuation.”
Cause of derailment still unknown
The main track is blocked in both directions as cleanup continues at the location. Officials said the cause of the derailment is still unknown.
The Federal Railroad Administration, a division of the United States Department of Transportation that regulates safety across the nation’s railroads, tweeted that it was sending a team to the location to collect information and assist local emergency workers.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said via Twitter that he was informed of the derailment and is getting daily updates from the state’s transportation and natural resources departments, as well as from emergency management officials. A spokesperson for Evers told the media that it’s still not clear if any environmental contamination has occurred.
The derailment happened nearly three months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Officials there decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars, contaminating the surrounding area. (Related: East Palestine residents issue list of demands to government “demanding action” following train derailment chemical catastrophe.)
Last month, hundreds of people were evacuated after a BNSF train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in Raymond, Minnesota.
