MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. (AP) – A train carrying more than 100 tankers of crude oil derailed in southern West Virginia on Monday, sending at least one into the Kanawha River, igniting at least 14 tankers and sparking a house fire, officials said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. Nearby residents were told to evacuate as a state emergency response and environmental officials headed to the scene about 30 miles southeast of Charleston.
The state was under a winter storm warning and getting heavy snowfall at times, with as much as 5 inches in some places. It’s not clear if the weather had anything to do with the derailment, which occurred about 1:20 EST along a flat stretch of rail.
Public Safety spokesman Lawrence Messina said responders at the scene reported one tanker and possibly another went into the river. Messina said local emergency responders were having trouble getting to the house that caught fire.
James Bennett, 911 coordinator for Fayette County, said he knew of no injuries related to the house fire or subsequent tanker fires. He said a couple hundred families were evacuated as a precaution.