SPRINGFIELD, OHIO (AP) – Some 20 cars of a Norfolk Southern cargo train derailed near Springfield in United States yesterday, the second derailment of the company’s trains in Ohio in a month, officials said.
But unlike the February 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a company spokesperson said there were no hazardous materials aboard the train, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The train, which did not have passengers, derailed at 5pm by State Route 41, near the Clark County Fairgrounds, the Dispatch reported.
Springfield is about 46 miles west of the state capital of Columbus, Ohio.
The 20 cars of the 212-car train derailed while travelling south, the Norfolk Southern spokesperson said.
Shawn Heaton told the Springfield News-Sun that he was waiting at the intersection as the train crossed the intersection and captured the start of the derailment on video.
The Clark County Emergency Management Agency asked residents within 1,000 feet of the derailment to shelter in place, but the agency said it has not issued formal evacuation orders.
In an update, the agency said officials are working to make sure that no hazardous materials were involved.
On February 3, 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, in northeast Ohio near Pennsylvania, derailed and several of the train’s cars carrying hazardous materials burned.
