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By Thomas Kika
Weekend Staff Writer
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Online photos have surfaced showing a messy situation unfolding after a train derailed in Western Montana.
According to NBC Montana, the train derailed around 9:20 a.m. local time on a track operated by the Montana Rail Link company. The incident occurred near the town of Quinns, located roughly 70 miles northwest of Missoula near the western Idaho border.
Dominic Vitiello, a reporter for NBC Montana, shared photos from the scene on Monday, showing a frenzied tangle of rail cars stuck at various angles along the banks of a river, with some appearing to be partially submerged.
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"Around 9:20 a.m. calls came into... the Sanders County Sheriffs Office of a 25 car train derailment," Vitiello wrote in a series of tweets. "According to the Sanders County Sheriff's Office, the fire department is on scene and there is no current threat to the public. This happened on a Montana Rail Link line who have been notified of the derailment but no known company is identified yet."
This incident comes in the wake of the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in early February, a destructive incident that brought a new public attention to the issue of derailments. The accident occurred near the town of East Palestine, Ohio, and resulted in considerable contamination of the air and nearby bodies of water, due to fires that released hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the atmosphere. Around 20 of the cars on the train had been carrying hazardous chemicals.
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Meanwhile, further dispatches from Vitiello reported that the local sheriff's office had yet to confirm if any workers had been injured in the derailment. As for the potential damage to the surrounding areas, officials told NBC Montana that only one car involved in the incident may be leaking propane. Otherwise, most of the cars displaced by the accident appear to be leaking beer. In a statement to Newsweek, Montana Rail Line confirmed the leakage of beer from the derailment and also said that "a small amount of fuel" was leaked into nearby soil.
"As of this afternoon, MRL personnel and contractors continue work at the derailment site," the statement read. "A boom has been deployed within the Clark Fork River to secure cans and bottles of beer that enter the water, and to help monitor for potential diesel impacts. A small amount of fuel was released to the soil from two impacted refrigerator cars. MRL has been in communication with both local and federal authorities and will conduct any necessary site remediation, including impacted soil removal in coordination with DEQ. There continues to be no risk to the public, no reported injuries, and there are no concerns involving hazmat release."
At least one photo from the incident appears to show a large amount of packaged beer piled up underneath two cars, though the brand of the spilled product cannot be determined.
"There looks to be no reports of any toxic material or hazardous material, so that is very good at this point in time," Vitiello said in a video update from the scene. "They say cleanup could take well into the next couple of days, and as of right now, they do not have [an idea] of what caused this derailment at this point in time."
Newsweek reached out to the Montana Department of Transportation via email for comment.
Updated 04/04/2023 12:12 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the Montana Rail Line.
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