MARCH 21, 2015
VALLEY MILLS, TEXAS
UPDATE:
RESIDENTS ALLOWED TO
RETURN HOME AFTER BNSF TRAIN HAULING METHANOL DERAILS
Several Bosque County residents
were evacuated Saturday evening after a BNSF train carrying a hazardous
chemical derailed.
The people who lived in the four evacuated
homes were allowed to return home hours after the derailment.
The train derailed
just after 5 p.m. Saturday, along highway 6 about a mile or so outside of
Valley mills.
No one was injured
in the derailment however 11 train cars overturned while the engine and the
caboose remained upright.
According to DSP
Spokesman Trooper D.L. Wilson five of those train cars were carrying a
hazardous chemical called Methanol.
Bosque County
Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Jeske said crews immediately evacuated a
one-thousand foot radius around the train which included just four homes.
"We're just at
a holding stage monitoring for environmental impacts,” says Jeske. “We'll be
out here as long as we need to remedy the situation and make sure and monitor
any damage to the environment and things like that.”
Officials didn't
specify how much of the chemical leaked but say they're no longer worried about
its danger to the public.
Emergency responders say BNSF Railway hazmat
crews were on their way to the scene as of 8:30 p.m. Saturday night to takeover
the cleanup process and the investigation.
//-------------------------------------//
About a dozen cars, several of which had been carrying
methanol, have overturned in a train derailment north of Valley Mills, TX.
People in the surrounding area have been evacuated by a hazmat team which is
dealing with the chemical leak at the scene.
Five of the derailed cars were carrying methanol, Department
of Public Safety spokesman Trooper D.L. Wilson said, reported AP. Two of the
methanol-hauling tanks have started leaking.
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident but as
a precaution, Wilson confirmed, ten homes in the area were evacuated.
Bosque County Emergency Management are still on the major
train derailment about a mile north of the Valley Mills city limits after
multiple train cars overturned and started leaking chemicals.
“VMVFD unit and multiple agency are work a MAJOR HAZMAT
EMERGENCY just north of the city limits,” the city’s fire department said on
its Facebook page.
CBS Texas reports that seven of the derailed cars were
flatbeds carrying drill pipes in addition to the five tankers containing
methanol. Overall the train was made up of 40 cars.
Hazmat teams are monitoring air and water conditions at the
scene, saying their biggest concern is the environment, now that everyone
downwind have been evacuated, reported Kristianna Gross of News Channel 25 in
Waco.
3 of the 11 cars that overturned are tankers carrying
unknown substance. Hazmat crews just arrived. pic.twitter.com/w2NTPHVfxR
— Kristianna Gross (@KXXV_Kristianna) March 21, 2015
The cause of the derailment remains unclear at present, but
heavy rainfall in the area may have been a factor. The fire department urged
residents to stay clear of State Highway 6 and FM 217.
So far no word on any injuries. I was told cause of the derailment
is still unknown at this time. pic.twitter.com/evrEZQJyKm
— Kristianna Gross (@KXXV_Kristianna) March 21, 2015
Source: http://rt.com
