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(Los Angeles) A freight train derailed Wednesday before catching fire on a railway bridge in Arizona, but no casualties were reported, a we learned from corroborating sources.
Published on 30 July 2020 at 9 o'clock54
France Media Agency
The accident took place in the city of Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, around 6 a.m. 15 local hour. The flames of the blaze were visible from several kilometers away and required the intervention of around 100 people.
Eight of the ten wagons that made up the freight convoy caught fire, fed by the tree trunks that some of them were carrying, told AFP Tim McMahan, spokesperson for US rail operator Union Pacific.
“The southern part of the bridge collapsed and wagons fell on a vacant parking lot located below”, added the spokesperson, stressing that the building in question had just been inspected.
No injuries were recorded among the train employees, but one person was taken care of after inhaling smoke.
There were tank cars below the bridge, some containing cyclohexanone, a flammable and irritating substance, but no leaks were reported and they did not catch fire, McMahan said.
The causes of the accident are still undetermined and an investigation has been opened.
