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U.S. NEWS Friday 14 February 2020
Fiery train derailment in Kentucky spills ethanol into river

By REBECCA REYNOLDS ment Cabinet said.
YONKER "As we monitor this situa-
Associated Press tion, our top priority is the
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — health of families who rely
A large rock slide on a on the Mountain Water
rain-saturated mountain District, and I appreciate
caused a fiery train derail- the Emergency Response
ment Thursday morning Team's swift action," Ken-
in eastern Kentucky that tucky Gov. Andy Beshear
briefly trapped two crew said.
members and caused a No homes were damaged
chemical leak into a river, in the sparsely populated
authorities said. area and residents who
Two crew members of were briefly evacuated
the CSX train were initially were allowed to return.
trapped in a flaming lo- CSX said it had mobilized
comotive along the river's its emergency teams and
edge before climbing out were working with local au-
and waiting for firefighters First responders are on the scene of a train derailment at in eastern Kentucky, Thursday, Feb. 13, thorities.
to rescue them by boat. 2020. The National Transporta-
They were taken to the Associated Press tion Safety Board said it
hospital with minor injuries, tucky State Police spokes- over the last 48 hours, said intake on the Russell Fork was sending team of six to
officials said. man William Petry said Dustin Jordan, a meteo- of the Big Sandy River was investigate the derailment.
There weren't any other re- authorities were not sure rologist with the National closed until the intake wa- The public is being asked to
ports of injuries. whether diesel fuel or etha- Weather Service. ter can be tested, the Ken- avoid the area if possible,
CSX said in a statement nol was fueling the blaze, The Mountain Water District tucky Energy and Environ- police said.q
that the train derailed into but authorities decided to
the Big Sandy River about let the fire burn itself out
7 a.m. because of a rock since it did not pose a pub-
slide over the tracks. The lic safety threat.
derailment happened in "Luckily the train wasn't go-
the small Pike County com- ing very fast, so it saved
munity of Draffin, about them from a major disas-
160 miles (255 kilometers) ter," Petry said.
southeast of Lexington, Weather was a factor in
Kentucky. Video showed a the rock slide, which Petry
wooded area ablaze be- estimated at about 300
hind some homes shortly feet (91 meters) long and
after the derailment oc- about 50 feet (15 meters)
curred. wide. Heavy rain over the
CSX said the train had 96 past week had left the
cars carrying ethanol and ground on the steep hills
two cars loaded with rocks. and mountains saturated
Five rail cars derailed — with water, Petry said.
four ethanol tanks and one Heavy rains have caused
other car — CSX said later flooding and multiple rock
on Twitter. slides in the region since
One locomotive and other last week. Pike County got
cars caught fire. 3 to 4 inches (7 to 10 cen-
The blaze was still going timeters) of rain last week
nearly four hours later. Ken- and probably another inch