BNSF train derailed at a crossing on Pine Street near the intersection with Interstate 10 in Beaumont, Texas

A worker walks along a derailed train on Pine Street on Friday. A train derailed at a crossing on Pine Street near the intersection with Interstate 10 on Friday. The four flatbed cars affected were empty of cargo. Photo taken Friday 8/14/15 Jake Daniels/The Enterprise Photo: Jake Daniels

 
Beaumont, Texas

By Eric Besson
Updated 6:16 pm, Friday, August 14, 2015 

Four empty railroad cars derailed around midday Friday, blocking the Pine Street crossing in Beaumont. No injuries were immediately reported.

The train was on a BNSF rail line headed into the Port of Beaumont to receive cargo, port spokesman John Roby said.

The derailment of the cars, all flatbeds, happened between 11 a.m. and noon, someone employed at a nearby business said.

As of 1:15 p.m., a BNSF crew was on the scene.

Death toll stands at 104, as new small explosions rocked a disaster zone in the Chinese port of Tianjin on Saturday as teams scrambled to clear dangerous chemical contamination

Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press

August 15, 2015

REUTERS/StringerAn aerial picture shows smoke rising from the debris among shipping containers at the site of Wednesday night's explosions at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China, August 15, 2015.









TIANJIN, China (AP) — New small explosions rocked a disaster zone in the Chinese port of Tianjin on Saturday as teams scrambled to clear dangerous chemical contamination and found several more bodies to bring the death toll to 104 in massive blasts earlier in the week.

Angry relatives of missing firefighters stormed a government news conference to demand any information on their loved ones, who have not been seen since a fire and rapid succession of blasts late Wednesday at a warehouse for hazardous chemicals in a mostly industrial area.

The death toll in the ensuing inferno included at least 21 firefighters — making the disaster the deadliest for Chinese firefighters in more than six decades.

An unknown number of firefighters remain missing, and a total of 720 people were injured in the disaster in Tianjin, 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Beijing. One additional survivor was found Saturday.

Two Chinese news outlets, including the state-run The Paper, reported that the warehouse was storing 700 tons of sodium cyanide — 70 times more than it should have been holding at one time — and that authorities were rushing to clean it up.
Here's a photo of the crater, sourced from Reddit. We have yet to confirm its source.
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Sodium cyanide is a toxic chemical that can form a flammable gas upon contact with water.

Authorities also detected the highly toxic hydrogen cyanide in the air at levels slightly above safety levels at two locations in the afternoon, The Paper cited Tianjin environmental official Wen Wurui as saying. But the contamination was no longer detected later Saturday and there was no obvious impact on anybody in the area, the report said.

APSmoke rises from debris near a crater that was at the center of a series of explosions in Tianjin

The disaster has raised questions about whether dangerous chemicals were being stored too close to residential compounds, and whether firefighters may have triggered the blasts, possibly because they were unaware the warehouse contained chemicals combustible on contact with water.

The massive explosions Wednesday happened about 40 minutes after reports of a fire at the warehouse and after an initial wave of firefighters arrived and, reportedly, doused some of the area with water.

Ng Han Guan/APMen gather on an elevated highway near the smoking remains of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015.

Authorities on Saturday pulled out one survivor from a shipping container, state media reported. His identity was not immediately known. Television video showed the man being carried out on a sketcher by a group of soldiers wearing gas masks.

Authorities were keeping residents, journalists and other people not involved in the disaster response outside a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) radius around the site of the explosions in what media reports said was an operation to clean up the sodium cyanide.

Flames were spotted in the disaster area on Saturday, and explosions were reported by witnesses and state media.

In one case, heavy smoke from a fire engulfing several cars rose as high as 10 meters (yards), accompanied by at least five explosions.

Ng Han Guan/APIn this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015, a man walks past the charred remains of new cars at a parking lot near the site of an explosion at a warehouse in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality.

Police and military personnel manned checkpoints on roads leading to the blast sites, and helicopters were seen hovering in the overcast sky. The air had a metallic chemical smell, and there was uneasiness over rain forecasts, although it was warm and windy.

Meanwhile, family members of missing firefighters disrupted the latest news conference about the disaster, demanding to know whether their loved ones were still alive.

“(The authorities) didn’t notify us at all,” said Liu Huan, whose son Liu Chuntao has been missing since late Wednesday. “Our son is a firefighter, and there was a team of firefighters who lost contact. We couldn’t contact him.”

Liu Longwang said she had not heard a word on her son Liu Ziqiao, also a firefighter. “We are extremely worried,” she said. “He just turned 18.”

State media reported that the casualties of the first three squads of firefighters to respond and of a neighborhood police station have not yet been fully determined, suggesting that the death toll could rise further.

Ng Han Guan/APChinese firefighters rest as they wait to be deployed near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015.

Tianjin Fire Department head Zhou Tian said at a news conference Friday that the explosions occurred just as reinforcements had arrived on the scene and were getting to work. “There was no chance to escape, and that’s why the casualties were so severe,” he said. “We’re now doing all we can to rescue the missing.”

One surviving firefighter, 19-year-old Zhou Ti, was found Friday morning and taken to a hospital. Zhou Ti and Zhou Tian are unrelated.

Li Yonghan, a doctor at Teda Hospital, called Zhou’s survival “miraculous” and said Zhou escaped death mainly because he was covered by his fallen comrades. Zhou had massive injuries, including burns and leg cuts.

From his hospital bed, Zhou told state broadcaster CCTV that the fire was spreading out of control. “I was knocked onto the ground at the first blast,” recalled Zhou, his eyes swollen and closed. “I covered my head and don’t know what happened after that.”

Lin Yujie, who lives in a nearby residential complex, said when he initially heard the blasts Wednesday night he thought they were a massive air strike.

Ng Han Guan/APChinese emergency crew survey the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015.

“It was just a sea of fire,” Lin recalled. “We were really worried that there would be a second or third explosion and what we would do then.”



As details of the blasts and the rescue efforts surface, members of the public have been raising questions about whether fire commanders had erred in prematurely sending firefighters into a highly dangerous zone and using water to put out flames on the site known to have stored a variety of hazardous chemicals, including sodium cyanide and calcium carbide, which become flammable on contact with water.

Local officials also have been hard-pressed to explain why authorities permitted hazardous goods warehouses so close to residential complexes and critical infrastructure, clearly in violation of the Chinese rule that hazmat storage should be 1,000 meters (yards) away from homes and public structures.

Pope Francis, meanwhile, offered his prayers to the victims of the disaster. “I assure my prayers for those who lost their lives and for all those persons tried by this disaster,” he said Saturday in remarks to thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Francis made the remarks despite a tense relationship between Beijing and the Vatican.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of a 1.8-mile zone around the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Saturday as fresh explosions were heard and fires continued to rage — and the death toll rose to 104.

AUGUST 15, 2015

Tianjin, China, Explosion Area Evacuated as Death Toll Rises to At Least 104

by Alastair Jamieson and Reuters



Authorities ordered the evacuation of a 1.8-mile zone around the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Saturday as fresh explosions were heard and fires continued to rage — and the death toll rose to 104.

The new toll from Wednesday's huge blasts, at a warehouse storing hazardous materials, includes at least 21 firefighters, state media said.

Rescuers also found an additional survivor Saturday as authorities evacuated much of the area to clean up dangerous chemical contamination. Several additional small explosions rocked the disaster zone as the clean-up continued.

Police have, for the first time, confirmed the presence of deadly sodium cyanide — fatal when ingested or inhaled, the state-run Beijing News said.

Police and military staff were deployed at checkpoints leading to the explosion site, and helicopters were hovering above.

"I do feel a bit afraid," said construction worker Li Shulan, 49, when asked about the air quality. "It definitely doesn't feel good. As you can see our boss is making us wear masks."
A huge hole is seen at the core area of Tianjin blasts in this aerial photo. Xinhua

A retired environmental official told reporters that air pollution posed no risk. "At the moment, the (air pollution) does not pose much danger to those in the vicinity," said Bao Jingling, a former engineer with the city's environmental protection bureau.

Harmful substances could not be detected in the air from 17 monitors placed around the city, said Bao.

About 6,300 people have been displaced by the blasts, with around 721 injured and 33 in serious condition, Xinhua news agency said. Shockwaves from the explosions were felt by residents in apartment blocks miles kilometers away in the city of 15 million people.

About a dozen family members of missing firefighters tried to storm a news conference, angry at a lack of information about their loved ones.


"We have gone to each and every hospital by ourselves and not found them," said Wang Baoxia, whose elder brother is missing.

"There is no government official willing to meet us. Not even one," she said. Relatives said around 25 fire fighters they said were missing were young contract workers not part of official city fire brigades.

Media have said such fire fighters in China, often only on two-year contracts, lack training as new recruits.

Possible carbon monoxide poisoning on blood donation bus in Houston, Texas

Updated 1 hr 43 mins ago

HOUSTON (KTRK) --

Three staff members on board a Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center bus had to be taken to the hospital after possible carbon monoxide poisoning.

It happened outside the Marq*E Entertainment Center on the Katy Freeway at Silber.

According to Cortney Martin with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, three workers on board the bus began feeling nauseous and 911 was called. They were all taken to the hospital by ambulance. There is no word on their conditions.

No blood donors were on board at the time of the incident. Workers believe the bus was possibly leaking carbon monoxide, but the carbon monoxide sensor did not go off on the bus

Motorcyclist dies in fall from elevated I-45 in Dallas

Updated 1 hr 57 mins ago

DALLAS, TX --

Dallas police say a motorcyclist has been killed when he fell from atop an elevated section of Interstate 45 while trying to avoid an accident.

Senior Cpl. Demarquis Black says the rider was dead at the scene Saturday morning near downtown Dallas.

Police say the rider was trying to avoid an accident when he lost control of his motorcycle and fell off I-45 onto traffic below on Live Oak Street.

Police did not immediately say how far the victim fell or details on why he apparently swerved his bike. His name wasn't immediately released.

Further details weren't immediately available.

Emergency crews had to use the Jaws of Life after a crash on a tree in Johnston County, NC

Jaws of Life used in Clayton wreck




Emergency crews had to use the Jaws of Life after a wreck in Johnston County.






Updated 1 hr 9 mins ago
CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- 
Two men were pinned in their truck for some time in Clayton on Saturday afternoon before emergency used the Jaws of Life.

It happened in the 3000 block of N.C. 42 West just past Government road

Our crew on the scene said a single car went off the road and hit a tree, pinning the men.

Emergency crews used hydraulic tools including the Jaws of Life to get them out and both were immediately taken to the WakeMed trauma center, according to our crew.



It's unknown right now why they went off the road but authorities are investigating.

One lane of the highway was closed for over an hour.

5 homes to be demolished after massive fire in Trenton, New Jersey

A total of five homes will have to be demolished following a fire in Trenton, New Jersey.

Updated 1 hr 10 mins ago

TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) --

A total of five homes will have to be demolished following a fire in Trenton, New Jersey.

Three of the homes were occupied and two were vacant, fire officials say.

A 22-year-old, who had just celebrated her birthday, was critically injured in the blaze. She suffered burns on 70 to 80 percent of her body.

Luis Rodriguez told Action News what he saw with the help of a translator.

"She came out all in flames, all burned up. He tried to cover her to get off the fire."

One firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion.

There were no other injuries.

The blaze broke out around 10:00 p.m. in the 200 block of Hills Place.

When crews arrived on the scene they found heavy fire showing from the five homes, prompting the call for additional alarms.

"I was laying in bed and I heard, like, a cannon went off, like an explosion, and I heard people screaming. I ran out to see what it was. I looked out and I saw the house engulfed in flames," said neighbor Jamont Richardson.

It took firefighters about three hours to get the 4-alarm fire under control.

Thirteen people were displaced in the blaze. They are being assisted by the Red Cross.

The city's plan to demolish what's left of the damaged homes is leaving people who live across the street temporarily homeless. That's because their homes are only separate from the fire scene by a narrow alley.

"I was told two to three days before I can go back to my house. That's why I'm sitting out here now, waiting for Red Cross, talk to them to put me up somewhere until that time," Richardson said.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Pedestrian struck, killed by Greyhound bus on US-113 in Delaware

Saturday, August 15, 2015 12:56PM

 

FRANKFORD, Del. -- 

 

Delaware State Police are investigating after a bus struck and killed a pedestrian walking on a road near Frankford.

Police say a Greyhound bus carrying 47 passengers was traveling north along US-113 near Frankford early Saturday morning. Police say a pedestrian was reported to be walking in the roadway.

The pedestrian was struck and severely injured. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say alcohol use by the pedestrian appears to be a factor. Police identified the pedestrian as 56-year-old Sylvester Bailey of Millsboro.

The driver brought the bus to a controlled stop. No one on the bus was injured.

Police say a Selbyville police officer was traveling behind the bus, searching for the pedestrian in the road. The officer says speed was not a factor in the crash.

Long Island police arrest Renen Vides, 29, of Hempstead in connection with 2013 fatal car accident

Updated 2 hrs 33 mins ago

 

WESTBURY (WABC) -- 

 

Police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal car accident that happened in 2013.

According to the Nassau County Police Department, a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant was traveling eastbound around noon in the right lane of Old Country Road in Westbury in September 2013. The driver veered to the right, and then hit a curb and a tree.

The driver was injured and was taken to a local hospital where he was admitted for treatment. He was listed in serious condition at the time. Martha Hernandez-Majano, 27, and Renen Vides Jr., 4, both of Uniondale, were in the car at the time, and were taken to a hospital where both were pronounced dead.

On Friday, police said they arrested Renen Vides, 29, of Hempstead. Garden City police pulled him over for operating a 2011 Nissan Sentra without a front plate on Clinton Street, and he had an open warrant. He is being charged with two counts of second degree manslaughter, second degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving and driving violations.

He was scheduled for arraignment Saturday in Hempstead.

Engine fire causes an SUV to burst into flames on New Jersey Turnpike

(Jeanine Torres)

Updated 2 mins ago

EAST RUTHERFORD (WABC) --

There was trouble on the New Jersey Turnpike when an SUV burst into flames on Saturday afternoon.

The fire happened near Exit 16W in East Rutherford. Police say the Chevy Trailblazer with four people inside was heading to MetLife Stadium when the driver noticed a fire burning in the back, and pulled over. Everyone got out safely.

The driver detached a trailer the vehicle was pulling, so it wouldn't be damaged. The car, however was destroyed.  The most probable cause appears to be engine fire.

Three lanes of the turnpike were shut down for an hour.

Number of cases of Legionnaires' Disease at 124, outbreak contained in Bronx, NYC

By Marcus Solis

Saturday, August 15, 2015

 

MELROSE (WABC) -- 

 

The reported number of cases of Legionnaires' disease in the South Bronx is 124, according to new numbers released Saturday by the mayor's office.

On Friday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the Legionnaires' outbreak in the South Bronx has been contained.

There have been no new cases with symptoms after Aug. 3. Officials have said that one or more of the five locations that initially tested positive was the source of the outbreak; those have been disinfected.

Ninety-four people with the disease have been treated and released; the number of people dead from Legionnaires' stands at 12. All deceased individuals were adults with underlying medical conditions, according to de Blasio's office.

On Thursday, the City Council passed legislation requiring regular testing of cooling towers citywide.

"We do hope and pray that it stops this outbreak of happening again but we know Legionella grows in cooling towers and that's why we want to identify those cooling towers," said City Councilman Vanessa Gibson.

1 driver is killed after he crosses into oncoming traffic and collides with a pickup truck in Long Island, NY

Saturday, August 15, 201

 

EAST MORICHES, N.Y. -- 

 

Police on Long Island say a driver crossed into oncoming traffic, hit a pickup truck and was killed.

The accident happened at 8:40 p.m. Friday in East Moriches.

Suffolk County police say a Jeep headed westbound on Montauk Highway crossed over the double yellow line and hit a pickup truck.

The Jeep was engulfed in flames. The driver, who was not identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the pickup, 24-year-old Dylan Hughes, suffered minor injuries. His 6-month-old daughter was in the back seat and was not injured.

The investigation is continuing.

Pilot killed in Cessna T206H Turbo Stationair plane crash in Fairfield, New Jersey

Renee Stoll has more from West Caldwell.

AUGUST 15, 2015

 

FAIRFIELD, NJ (WABC) --

 

A 50-year-old New Jersey man is dead after the Cessna 206 aircraft he was in crashed about a half mile from Essex County Airport Saturday morning.

The crash occurred around 10 a.m. shortly after departing from Runway 22, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane ended up at the Fairfield/West Caldwell border near Passaic Avenue.

Authorities said the cause of the crash was not immediately known.

The Cessna was was heading to Teterboro Airport to pick up a passenger when the pilot realized something was wrong with plane. He tried to circle back to the airport but crashed. The plane was about 90 percent destroyed is a fire. He has not been identified and his family has not yet been notified.


Max Bratton, who operates Rover Ranch and Spa at 16 Passaic Ave., said he was outside when a small plane flew very low over his head. Within seconds, he said, he heard a clipping noise, which he thinks was the plane hitting trees nearby. Then it crashed behind a day care called Kiddie Academy of West Caldwell at 810 Passaic Ave.


Bratton said he then heard a large explosion and fire. He said there is usually no one at the day care on Saturdays. The plane crashed about 100 feet from the playground at Kiddie Academy.

Passaic Avenue is shut down to all cars from Fairfield Avenue to Beverly Road in Fairfield.

The FAA is on scene; the National Transportation Safety Board is on the way.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Date:	15-AUG-2015
Time:	ca 10:00
Type:	Cessna T206H Turbo Stationair
Owner/operator:	Stalactite LLC
Registration:	N63TV
C/n / msn:	T20608925
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	0,5 mile S of Essex County Airport (KCDW), Caldwell, NJ -   United States of America
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Unknown
Departure airport:	Essex Co (KCDW)
Destination airport:	Teterboro Airport (KTEB)

Narrative:
The aircraft impacted wooded terrain shortly after takeoff from runway 22 at Essex County Airport (KCDW), Caldwell, New Jersey. The airplane was partially consumed by the post-impact fire and the two occupants onboard received fatal injuries. Sources: 
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=178692 http://patch.com/new-jersey/caldwells/breaking-two-reportedly-killed-nj-plane-crash-0
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/08/plane_crashes_outside_essex_county_airport.html

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