Propane-filled car flips over in Florida train derailment

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This article was published 01/03/2023 (1285 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Officials in Florida are keeping a watchful eye on a train car carrying 30,000 gallons (113,562 liters) of propane that tipped over in a derailment along the Gulf Coast.

The freight train operated by Seminole Gulf Railway derailed Tuesday in an industrial area near Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, which is about 52 miles (82 kilometers) south of Tampa. Of the six cars that tipped over, five contained sheetrock, officials said.

Hazmat and fire crews responded to the scene and officials said no one was injured.

Southern Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Robert Bounds told news outlets that another car containing propane did not tip over. He said it could take several days, and lots of heavy equipment, to get the train cars righted and the tracks fixed.

“We’ll be on the scene when they do upright it with all of our personnel and equipment ready to act in the event that something does go wrong,” Bounds said Tuesday night.

Bounds said there was no immediate threat to the public, but evacuations would be ordered if that changed. Crews were monitoring air quality in the vicinity.

Officials said the train was traveling south when the derailment occurred, and its cause was not immediately known. An investigation is underway.

This derailment follows one that happened Feb. 3 when 38 cars on a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, prompting the evacuation of about half of the town’s 4,000 residents. No one was injured or killed but the accident and its aftermath imperiled the entire village and nearby neighborhoods, resulting in an ongoing multi-governmental emergency response and lingering worries among villagers about long-term health impacts.