Corrected: Investigators eye flooding in deadly US ethanol train derailment

22 June 2009 20:00  [Source: ICIS news]

Correction: In the ICIS news story headlined “Investors eye flooding in deadly US ethanol train derailment” dated 22 June 2009, please read the headline as “Investigators …” instead of  “Investors…”

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Investigators want to know if floods played a role in the deadly derailment of a train carrying ethanol near Rockford, Illinois, officials said on Monday.

A 41-year-old woman died as she ran from her car at a railroad crossing, and three others were severely injured on Friday when 18 of the Canadian National Railway train's 114 cars jumped the tracks and caused a massive fire, according to the Associated Press.

Rockford fire chief Derek Bergsten said the railcars were carrying ethanol. The fires burned through the night but died down on Saturday. Hundreds of residents were evacuated from homes near the derailment site.

Initial reports said the derailment was caused by a washout of the tracks following heavy rains on Friday. Witnesses told the Rockford Register-Star that railcars began hydroplaning in standing water as the train approached the crossing.

Bergsten said the Rockford area, about 80 miles northwest of Chicago, received 4 inches of rain in less than an hour.

"We did have preliminary reports that water was over the tracks," Bergsten said.

Canadian National spokesman Patrick Waldron referred questions about the accident to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Investigators with the NTSB did not return calls on Monday, but lead investigator Robert Sumwalt said at a press conference on Sunday that crews notified the dispatcher about high water near the accident site.

"As they were reporting that to the dispatcher, that's when the derailment occurred," Sumwalt said.

Sumwalt said it was still unclear if high water from the storms caused the derailment and appealed for more eyewitness accounts of the accident. He said the NTSB's final report could take up to a year to finish.

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By: Lane Kelley
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