Depressed wagons, meter-high flames and a thick, dark column of smoke that rises into the sky: In the USA, there has been a serious accident involving a freight train. Dozens of people in the vicinity of the accident site had to be evacuated.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon at around 2 p.m. (local time) near Sibley in the US state of Iowa. A total of 47 cars on the train jumped out of the tracks in the crash and were sometimes pushed into one another. It was initially unclear why the derailment occurred. It is presumed that a damaged bridge led to the accident.
Rescue specialists called in
After the derailment, the locomotive’s diesel fuel caught fire. Since some of the wagons loaded with explosive fertilizers and ammonium nitrate also threatened to go up in flames, dangerous goods specialists were called in for the rescue work.
As a security measure, numerous residents were evacuated. However, there are currently no reports of injuries or fatalities. (cat)