Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Fire

Live TV news coverage: Galena derailment – video of fire and explosions

Repost from KWQC TV6, Davenport IA
[Editor: Good interview at Incident Command location with Galena City Administrator Mark Moran showing smoke plumes in the background.  Also separate video of explosions and a segment with ariel video showing crude oil and trees on fire.  – RS]

Train derails south of Galena, Ill.

By Jeff Whitten, March 5, 2015, 2:37 pm Updated: March 5, 2015, 6:16 pm

 GALENA, Ill. – (KWQC) – The Jo Daviess County Sheriff says a train has derailed south of Galena where the Galena River meets the Mississippi River.

We have confirmed that the train was carrying oil. Our news team is near the scene and can see smoke coming from the fire. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tells TV-6 that fire crews were pulled away from the fire because of the danger.

You can also see a large plume of smoke from the live slope cameras located at Chestnut Mountain Ski Resort. Two members of the Coast Guard are also on their way to the scene. Iowa American Water company, which uses the Mississippi River as a source for drinking water, has not been notified of the incident.

BNSF released this statement on the derailment:

A BNSF Railway train derailed at approximately 1:20 pm CST in a rural area south of Galena, IL. There are no injuries reported. The train consists of 105 loaded cars, which includes 103 cars loaded with crude oil and 2 buffer cars loaded with sand. BNSF responders are en route. No further information is available at this time.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Fire, Oil spill

AP / CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Update, with photos & twitter pics

Repost from The Chicago Sun-Times

BNSF train carrying crude oil derails in Galena

Posted: 03/05/2015, 05:10pm | Associated Press
Smoke from a fiery BNSF crude oil train derailment near Galena, Ill., is seen from the Chestnut Mt. Resort. | Image from lifestream video

GALENA, Ill. (AP) — A BNSF Railway freight train containing 103 cars loaded with crude oil has derailed near the northern Illinois city of Galena.

According to railroad officials, the train derailed around 1:20 p.m. Thursday in a rural area where the Galena River meets the Mississippi.

Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Moser says several cars have caught fire as a result of the derailment. The blaze hasn’t prompted any evacuations, although that may change. BNSF spokesman Mike Trevino says the cause of the derailment hasn’t been determined. He said railroad employees are on the scene and additional BNSF personnel are headed there and will work with local responders.

In addition to the cars loaded with crude oil, the train consisted of two buffer cars loaded with sand. Its destination wasn’t immediately known.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Fire

REUTERS UPDATE – Derailment near Galena IL: 2 cars on fire, near Mississippi River

Repost from Reuters

UPDATE 2-BNSF oil train derails in rural Illinois; two cars aflame

By Edward McAllister and Catherine Ngai

NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) – A BNSF Railway train loaded with crude oil derailed on Thursday afternoon in a rural area south of Galena, Illinois, with two of the tank cars catching fire, according to local officials and the company.

The incident marks the latest in a series of derailments involving trains hauling crude oil, a trend that has put a heightened focus on rail safety.

Local TV published images of dark smoke rising from the area where the incident occurred, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency told local WREX.com that initial reports suggested two of the cars were on fire.

The train with 105 loaded cars – 103 of them carrying crude oil – derailed at approximately 1:20 p.m. CST (1920 GMT), according to a BNSF statement. The incident occurred on what appears to be a major rail line alongside the Mississippi River that handles as many as 50 oil-trains a week, one official said.

BNSF said there were no reported injuries and no evacuations. The Berkshire Hathaway Inc unit said it did not know what had caused the derailment, which occurred about 3 miles outside Galena, a town of just over 3,000 on the border with Wisconsin.

Eight cars derailed just before 2 p.m. central time, according to Galena City Administrator Mark Moran, six of which had tumbled onto their side.

The smoke could be seen as far as Galena, he said. Emergency responders have been called back to Galena as a precaution, and BNSF responders had taken over control of the site.

It was not immediately clear where the train originated or where it was heading. Chicago, which is 160 miles east, is a major rail hub for shipments from both North Dakota and Canada’s oil sands.

About 40 to 50 oil trains come through the area each week, Jo Daviess County Emergency Manager Charles Pedersen said. He had earlier said there was no explosion or fire at the site.

The accident is just the latest involving oil trains in the United States and Canada.

In 2013, 47 people were killed in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic after a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded. The last incident was just three weeks ago.

Last month, a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train derailment in nearby Dubuque, Iowa, spilled ethanol fuel into the water and set three cars on fire. Dubuque, which is 14 miles to the north west of Galena, has almost 60,000 inhabitants.

(Reporting by Catherine Ngai; editing by Chris Reese, G Crosse and Christian Plumb)

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