A freight train derailed Wednesday after striking a rockslide in a remote region of West Virginia, injuring three people and spilling diesel into the nearby river.
Two CSX crew members were airlifted and a third was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after 22 cars derailed early Wednesday morning and caught fire, CNN reported. The wreckage caused diesel fuel and oil to spill into the New River, but a CSX spokesperson assured the outlet that containment measures would be deployed. All 109 train cars were reportedly empty at the time of the derailment, according to a release from the West Virginia Emergency Management Division (WVEMD).
“At least one locomotive and one fuel tank went into the New River,” the WVEMD stated in their release, noting that CSX would be responsible for the clean-up.
🚨#BREAKING: Multiple people injured following cargo train derailment ⁰⁰📌#sandstone | #WestVirginia⁰⁰Multiple emergency crews are on scene to the site of a train derailment in sandstone, West Virginia after a train derailed causing three train workers to be injured The… https://t.co/8jfVwciJjy pic.twitter.com/lLETjl9tPu
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 8, 2023
“I’d like to commend the response agencies and CSX for their quick and efficient response,” Summers County Emergency Manager Steve Lipscomb said in the release. “All the agencies worked as a team to provide prompt medical aid and transportation to the injured.”
The state’s Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) is actively monitoring the situation and has notified public water systems downstream from the wreckage of the incident. The Bureau of Public Health (BPH) will remain alert for any potential public health impacts, the release stated.
The wreckage is being monitored by the Federal Rail Administration, which indicated that, although the fire has been extinguished, the wreck could still cause passenger travel delays, CNN reported.