(The following story by Audrey Parente and Eileen Zaffiro appeared on the News-Journal website on May 11, 2009.)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Hydrochloric acid started leaking from one of the train cars that derailed near Hargrove Grade and U.S. 1 near Palm Coast, but the minor leak was contained Sunday, a Florida East Coast Railway spokeswoman said.
The wreck occurred about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and hydrochloric acid, a hazardous material, was leaking, but the car was uprighted and a hazardous materials team responded, FEC Railway spokeswoman Michelle King said Sunday.
Later Sunday, the leak was contained, according to a brief statement from the city of Palm Coast. That statement sent out Sunday afternoon said the St. Johns County Hazmat Team had been on the scene to determine the extent of the leak.
Palm Coast and Flagler County Rescue, as well as the Flagler County Sheriff’s Department, also worked on the site to assure safety, according to the statement.
A second Hazmat team was called in from Jacksonville to assist the St. Johns team due to the heat Sunday afternoon.
One locomotive caught fire, but the fire was extinguished.
The train, No. 107-09, consisted of two locomotives and 68 railcars. Both engines and 26 cars — including automobile carriers, corn syrup tanks and boxcars — left the tracks.
The train’s crew, the conductor and a locomotive engineer, were taken to a local hospital for observation, although no severe injuries were reported, King said.
FEC is coordinating closely with local authorities on the clean-up and investigation, and the cause has not yet been determined. No evacuations were necessary.