About 20 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed Saturday night near the city of Springfield, the company's second rail accident in Ohio in a month, prompting authorities to advise residents near the scene of the incident to take shelter as a precaution.
A company spokesman explained that, unlike the derailment that occurred on February 3 in East Palestine, also in Ohio, this convoy did not carry hazardous materials on board, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
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Norfolk Southern said no one was injured in the incident and company crews are already on scene to begin cleanup operations.
According to the Ohio State Patrol, traffic had to be closed on State Route 41, Interstate 70 and Bird Road.
Both the State Patrol and the fire department confirmed that units specialized in hazardous materials were at the scene of the derailment assisting in the work.
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The train, which was not carrying passengers, derailed around 5 p.m. near State Route 41, a short distance from the Clark County Fairgrounds, local media reported.
Springfield is about 46 miles west of Columbus, the Ohio state capital.
All 20 cars of the train veered off the track as it traveled south, the Norfolk Southern spokesman said.
Shawn Heaton told the local Springfield News-Sun newspaper that he was waiting at the crossing when the train passed the intersection and caught video of the start of the derailment.
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"I was playing on my phone and I heard a loud bang. When I heard the noise, I started recording," Heaton said.
"All kinds of debris and metal were shooting out from under the carriages and that's when I started filming, and you could see them starting to jump off the tracks."
The Clark County Emergency Management Agency asked residents within 1,000 feet of the derailment to take shelter, but has not issued formal evacuation orders.
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As of 8:50 p.m., the agency said officials were working to make sure no hazardous materials were involved.
On February 3, 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, in the northeastern part of the state, near Pennsylvania, and several of those carrying hazardous materials caught fire.
Although there were no injuries, nearby towns in both states were shocked by the toxicity of the cargo that went up in flames, forcing the evacuation of nearly half of the city's roughly 5,000 residents in a multi-governmental emergency response and sparking concern among residents. neighbors because of the long-term repercussions on health.
With information from
The Associated Press
and
WCMH NBC4
