A freight train carrying chemicals derailed in Columbus, Ohio, early Wednesday morning, causing an explosion and evacuations in the area.
About 11 cars of a 98-car southbound Norfolk Southern train appeared to derail around 2 a.m. near Interstate 71 between E. 11th and E. 5th avenues on Wednesday. The cars went off the track in an industrial area near houses.
The derailment caused a blast that sent flames shooting hundreds of feet into the night sky, which could be seen as far as 10-miles away. Residents within a mile-wide area near the blast evacuated as firefighters tried to maintain the flames, The Associated Press reported.
Several cars of the train caught fire as three of them were carrying ethanol. Fire officials decided to let the fire burn out in the daylight, rather than trying to extinguish it. They were not sure what caused the derailment. Norfolk Southern reported that none of their workers suffered injuries.
Two people were reportedly injured after running towards the derailed train before it exploded. However they were able to take themselves to the hospital. Other residents were hospitalized after being affected by the chemical fumes.
Columbus resident Joel Priester spoke to The Associated Press about what he witnessed as the train exploded two blocks from his home.
"I saw flames, then I heard a loud sound, like a boom, and saw the flames shooting higher," he said. "It looked like the sun exploded."
Due to the threat of the flames and the fumes, several homes were evacuated within a mile of the area. The Ohio State Fairgrounds is set up was an evacuation area. Over 50 people were at the American Red Cross help site on the fairgrounds.
One evacuee, Linda Ogletree, who lives just a block from the site told The Associated Press about her experience. "I was in the house and heard the explosion, then I ran outside to see where it was coming from. The whole outside was lit up," she said. She ran from the site when an explosion occurred.
The recovery process has already begun and two locomotives and three freight cars were removed from the scene, Norfolk Southern told The Associated Press. Some of the cars that were removed by HAZMAT teams contained styrene, a chemical that can release a gas that affects the nervous system when ignited, Mike McNutt of Columbus Public Health told NBC4.
At least two of the cars were still burning around 7:30 a.m., but the scene seems to be under control. "It doesn't look like the situation is escalating," McNutt said.
NBC4 video of the crash scene
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