Ten Policemen Transported To Hospital Following Tennessee Train Derailment

At least 10 policemen have been transported to the hospital following a train derailment in Tennessee on Wednesday night as a result of breathing in toxic fumes from burning gas. At least seven other officers were required to go through decontamination from the fumes. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported.

According to the official press release from CSX Corp, the accident could have been much worse.

“Around midnight, a train en route from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Waycross, Ga., derailed the single tank car loaded with acrylonitrile, a hazardous material used in a variety of industrial processes including the manufacture of plastics. The substance is flammable and presents an inhalation risk. First responders have ordered an evacuation of residences and businesses in a two-mile radius.”

The train’s passengers and crewmen were safely evacuated from its 57 cars, and an emergency Red Cross shelter was set up at a local high school in Maryville to house the evacuees and handle any medical needs.

Firefighters and law enforcement arrived immediately to handle fire and direct the evacuation. According to the Blount County Sherriff’s Office Facebook page, the evacuation is slated to last anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to ensure that the area is safe, particularly since the air was contaminated upon derailment.

Law enforcement officials were unaware of the toxic chemicals burning in the air when they arrived, which is why 10 officers were directly affected and immediately sent to the hospital. Once it became apparent that it was not safe to stay in the vicinity, officials were alerted, and precautions were taken to protect those in the area.

For the most part, the incident was handled locally, but two highway patrol officers and CSX personnel were on hand to facilitate the process. As of right now, the cause of the derailment is unclear.

The Tennessee train derailment is not the first incident like this to happen in the last five months. In February, a fire began on a freight train traveling through West Virginia while carrying over three million gallons of crude oil, which erupted into flames, starting a massive fire when the train lost control. This is just one of many crude oil transportation mishaps to happen over the last few years, a fact that has brought down heavy federal regulations.

According to CSX, 27 of the 57 cars were carrying hazardous materials, but none contained crude oil, which saves them from punishment for evading the oil regulation laws for now. More research will follow on the cause of this disaster.

Luckily for them, it looks like no one was severely injured or killed, and the 10 policeman who were transported to the hospital following the Tennessee train derailment will be just fine.

[Image via KomoNews.com]