Almost five weeks after a freight train loaded with toxic chemicals derailed in the US state of Ohio, another freight train has derailed in the United States. Drone images show the wreckage of the train that struck a rockfall near a river in West Virginia on Wednesday morning. Three crew members were injured and diesel fuel spilled into the nearby river, according to CSX Corp. communicated. Authorities have meanwhile announced a special investigation into the safety record of the Norfolk Southern railway company. NTSB said it would examine the railroad’s safety culture “given the number and importance of recent accidents.”
The announcement comes just after a rail worker died in a work-related accident – the third such incident at Norfolk Southern since 2021. “The NTSB is concerned that several organizational factors may be involved in the accidents, including safety culture,” it said it in the statement. The agency cited five serious accidents: three work-related fatalities since December 2021 and two derailments this year, including that of a freight train loaded with toxic chemicals.
Watch the video: Ohio authorities flare chemicals from derailed train cars.
The 150-car train crashed on February 3 while en route from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania. Almost 40 wagons derailed. A huge fire broke out and toxic chemicals were released into the environment, including the chemical vinyl chloride, which is classified as a carcinogen. Thousands of people in the East Palestine community had to temporarily evacuate their homes. The authorities asserted that tests had shown that the air and water in the region were safe. However, many residents are skeptical and attribute headaches to the accident, among other things.