(The following report by Brandon Weghorst appeared on Steubenville, Ohio, television station WTOV’s website on May 13.)
POWHATAN POINT, Ohio — Emergency officials are still trying to determine what caused a train to derail late Wednesday night in Powhatan Point. No one had to be evacuated, but the train spilled deisel fuel into an area near homes and close to a creek.
Norfolk-Southern train 7013, which was heading south with coal cars, derailed and slammed into another parked train. It was trying to switch tracks, and crews say that’s when the engine most likely jumped for some reason.
But in the process, it ripped open a fuel tank that spilled onto the tracks and close to homes.
“We haven’t got a good estimate yet of what escaped. But in Ohio, the reportable quantity for a spill is 25 gallons, and it’s apparently over that,” said Dick Quinlin, Belmont County EMA director.
The derailment happened along a section of track that runs right through Taylor Street in Powhatan Point. Residents who live along both sides of the track say they heard what sounded like a storm approaching.
“All at once, it was ‘boom!’ — the loudest boom I ever heard,” said Luba Benni, who heard the derailment. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s thundering again.’ I mean it was a boom!”
Although an evacuation was not necessary, the scene was handled as a HAZMAT spill with a strong diesel stench in the air. Crews used sand and other absorbents to soak up as much gasoline as possible before it reached nearby Captina Creek.
And inspectors from Norfolk-Southern arrived shortly thereafter with heavy machinery for cleanup and to determine a cause.
Cleanup efforts lasted well into the night.