Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

fireballs

"It was like an atomic bomb went off": Massive train blaze forces evacuation of hundreds of houses

Fires were still burning nearly nine hours after the crash, in the state of West Virginia.

A TRAIN CARRYING more than 100 tankers of crude oil derailed during a snowstorm in southern West Virginia yesterday, sending at least one tanker into a river, igniting at least 14 in all and sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the sky, officials and residents said.

Part of the derailed train slammed into a house, residents said.

Officials evacuated hundreds of families and shut down two water treatment plants threatened by oil seeping into the river. And fires were still burning nearly nine hours after the accident, according to state public safety division spokesman Lawrence Messina. The plan is to let those tankers on fire burn out, he said.

Associated Press / YouTube

David McClung said he felt the heat from one of the explosions at his home about a half mile up the hill.

“It was a little scary. It was like an atomic bomb went off,” he said. One of the explosions that followed sent a fireball at least 300 feet into the air, McClung said.

One person was being treated for potential inhalation issues, but no other injuries were reported, according to a news release from CSX, the train company.

The state was under a winter storm warning and getting heavy snowfall at times, with as much as 5 inches in some places.

It’s not clear if the weather had anything to do with the derailment, which occurred about 1:20 p.m. along a flat stretch of rail about 30 miles southeast of Charleston. Federal railroad and hazardous materials officials are probing into the accident.

Responders at the scene reported at least one tanker went into the river, Messina said. Local emergency responders were having trouble getting to the house that caught fire, he said.

Fourteen to 17 tankers caught fire or exploded, said Jennifer Sayre, the Kanawha County manager.

Becky Nuckols heard the train hit the house directly across the river from her house in the community of Boomer.

“I thought it was a snow plow,” she said. “That’s what made me look out. All you heard was a big boom.”

After calling 911 Nuckols said she ran outside and saw a man leave the house and take off running.

Officials opened shelters, while CSX reserved hotel rooms and opened an outreach center for affected residents.

The office of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, which has issued a state of emergency, said the tanker cars were loaded with Bakken crude from North Dakota and headed to Yorktown, Virginia.

All but two of the 109 cars being hauled were tanker cars, officials said.

West Virginia American Water shut down a water treatment plant, located about 3 miles from the derailment, spokeswoman Laura Jordan. Another water plant downstream in the town of Cedar Grove also closed its intake, state health officials said.

Read: Woman grabs toddler by throat saying “that baby would rather be dead” 

Author
Associated Foreign Press
Your Voice
Readers Comments
7
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.