(The following story by Tom Alex appeared on the Des Moines Register website on June 26.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — Rescue workers waded through waist-deep water and diesel fuel in the dark to carry a seriously injured railroad engineer to safety.
At 11:29 p.m. Tuesday, Louisa County sheriff’s officials received a call from the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad.
Part of a bridge had collapsed near Columbus Junction, and the engineer was still in the locomotive, the caller said. The train was in the water.
The engineer suffered a possible broken hip and a back injury, said Lynn Mincer, chief of the Columbus Junction Fire and Rescue Department.
“There’s some speculation floodwaters going over Highway 70 had something to do with it. We’re thinking it was probably flood-related,” Mincer said.
The sheriff’s office would not release the name of the engineer. He was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.
The engineer was working with two switchmen when the collapse occurred, Mincer said. The switchmen were not injured.
Herb Jones, director of government affairs with Cedar American Rail Holdings Inc., the railroad operator, said the injured worker suffered “non-life-threatening injuries.”
The cause remains under investigation. The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating.
The responsibility for railroad bridge safety rests with the track’s owner, Tyson Foods, officials said.
The bridge had been inspected recently because of the flooding in the area. The cars were carrying water to weigh down the bridge and were in the process of being moved, the administration’s Steven Kulm said.
Tyson Foods issued a statement that said: “After the bridge was inspected and deemed safe by railroad personnel, two rail cars cleared the area; however, the other two cars plus the locomotive fell into the water. This portion of bridge is not part of the main railroad. Railroad inspectors are now assessing how to repair the spur.”
The company and IC&E officials did not say when the last routine inspection was conducted or by whom.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was notified of the fuel spill.
Dena Gray-Fisher, Iowa Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said 107 highway bridges located in flood areas have been inspected for potential flood-related problems, and many will be inspected again as waters recede.
The roughly quarter-mile-long bridge spans the Iowa River.