|
Sixteen cars of
the 34-car Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks late on
Tuesday in the town of Ripley, on Lake Eerie, the company said.
Two of the derailed cars were carrying ethanol and were leaking,
it said.
More than 50 homes near the derailment were evacuated, the
Chautauqua County Sheriff's office said. Broadcaster WGRZ-TV
reported many other residents in the area were told to shelter
in place. No injuries were reported, the sheriff's office said.
A spokesman for Norfolk Southern, Dave Pidgeon, said an
undetermined amount of ethanol leaked from the two cars after
they derailed. One spill emanated from a puncture that has since
been patched. The other car was leaking ethanol through a
gasket, he said.
A third derailed car carrying plastic pellets also spilled some
of its contents, Pidgeon said. A train car carrying propane
derailed but did not leak, he said.
Crews would haul away all soil that had been contaminated, he
said. He added that it was not yet clear how long that would
take.
It was not yet known what caused the derailment.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles, editing by
Larry King)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
