CN
train carrying fuel oil derails, spills in Mississippi
1
February, 2014
JACKSON,
Miss. - A Canadian National Railway Co train carrying fuel oil and
other hazardous materials derailed and was leaking in southeast
Mississippi on Friday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents,
officials said.
No
one was injured in the incident which involved the derailment of 21
railcars, eight of which have spilled their contents, a Canadian
National Railway spokesman said.
Several
of the cars were carrying hazardous materials including fertilizer
and methanol, but there was no fire, he said.
The
accident, the latest in a string of North American train derailments
over the past year, occurred in the city limits of New Augusta in
Perry County, near a mobile home park, according to the Mississippi
Emergency Management Agency.
BREAKING: Train derails a few miles southeast of Hattiesburg
Details are here: http://bit.ly/1ddI87W
Emergency
services were on the scene and responding to the accident, local
officials said.
Local
sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said that fewer than 20 people have had to
be evacuated at last count.
"They've
got these spills pretty much contained and secured, and we're working
on starting the cleanup process at this point," Smith said from
the scene. "Hopefully we can get everything cleaned up this
afternoon and get people in their homes tonight."
Friday's
accident follows a spate of explosive derailments of trains carrying
crude oil over the past year that has raised questions about safety,
especially of some older tank cars prone to puncture.
Federal
regulators have been studying railcar design and other issues after
the accidents, including one last month when a 106-car BNSF Railway
Co train carrying crude east crashed into a derailed westbound BNSF
grain train near Casselton, North Dakota.
Last
July, a runaway oil train derailed and exploded in the centre of the
Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, killing 47 people.
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