A passenger train crashed on Wednesday in remote West Virginia after hitting a rockslide, injuring 3 passengers and leaking diesel fuel over a nearby river.
The empty coal train, which had 9 empty coal cars, and so all 4 of its engines crashed and caught fire around 4:51 a.m. on Wednesday at Sandstone, an unincorporated village in southern West Virginia, according to a statement from the transportation firm CSX Transportation.
CSX states 3 crew members, an engineer, an engineering student, and a conductor, are getting hospitalized for non-life-threatening wounds.
The statement claims that much oil and diesel fuel leaked following the horrific collision. The West Virginia Disaster Management Division issued a statement confirming that at least 1 engine and one fuel tank had fallen in the New River at the New River National Park and Preserve.
No dangerous chemicals were being carried by this train, according to CSX. “There was no risk to the public from the tragedy.”
According to the West Virginia Emergency Management Division, several state agencies were keeping an eye on the leak, and public water systems downstream were alerted and are keeping an eye out for any possible risks to the public health and environment.
