OMAHA, Neb. — An explosion inside a shipping container on the world’s largest railroad caused an evacuation in western Nebraska Thursday because of toxic fumes generated when one of the chemicals inside caught fire.
Around noon, an explosion occurred inside an intermodal container on a train at Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, although the cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, railroad spokeswoman Robynn Tysver said.
No one was injured, and no cars skidded.
Authorities evacuated everyone within a four-mile radius of the railroad, which is about 280 miles west of Omaha, was evacuated because of the smoke, and US Highway 30 was closed between North Platte and Hershey.
Interstate 80 was not affected by the smoke.
North Platte has a population of about 23,000.
The North Platte Fire Department said in a post on X that the evacuation was due to a railroad fire involving “heavy toxic fumes.”
Fire officials did not immediately return calls seeking further details.
One of the containers involved carried perchloric acid, which is used in explosives as well as various food and drug products, Tysver said.
The railroad tracks where the explosion occurred covered 2,850 acres and stretched eight miles wide at one point.
An explosion in a shipping container caused an evacuation on a Union Pacific railroad track in Nebraska due to toxic fumes on September 14, 2023. Facebook
A few years ago, an eight-story observation tower called the Golden Spike Tower was built to allow the public to watch thousands of trains move from one train to another on Union Pacific’s main east-west corridor.
Railroad safety has been a major concern across the country since a Norfolk Southern train derailed and caught fire in eastern Ohio.
The slippage prompted evacuations and calls for reform from members of Congress and regulators.
The National Transportation Safety Board did not immediately respond to an email message from The Associated Press asking if it would send a team to investigate the explosion.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
