AMITE, La. — Police are investigating the theft of six pieces of rail from the site of a freight train derailment and chemical spill in October on the city’s outskirts, the Associated Press reported.
Police Capt. Mike Foster said he did not know if the stolen rail included the broken rail blamed for the Oct. 12 crash that forced hundreds of people from their homes.
A spokesman for the Canadian National Railroad said Thursday that he was almost certain that key pieces of rail would not have been left at the site. In such a situation, the railroad normally would send such pieces of rail to specialists for testing, Jack Burke said.
Foster said the railroad reported earlier this week that six pieces of cut-up rails had been stolen.
On Wednesday, Canadian National said it had reported to the Federal Railroad Administration that a broken rail was the cause of the accident. Several hundred people claiming damages from the evacuation have filed class-action lawsuits against the railroad.
Nobody was seriously injured in the accident. Authorities said 40 businesses and 794 homes were in the evacuation zone.