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By Jordan King
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At least 35 cars of a train possibly carrying hazardous material derailed in Texas on Tuesday afternoon.
The Union Pacific freight train derailed around two miles east of Gordon in Palo Pinto County, Union Pacific spokesperson Robynn Tysver told Fox News.
Why It Matters
Although no leaks occurred in this incident, the derailment has raised concerns because of the number of cars involved and the potential for hazardous material exposure. Recent high-profile derailments, including the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio disaster, have kept public attention focused on railroad safety standards and the environmental risks posed by freight transport.
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What To Know
No injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered, but the crash ignited some small grass fires around the scene, Tysver said.
The emergency services district said the derailment was being treated as a hazardous material situation but it was not immediately known what the derailed train cars were carrying.
"Crews are on scene, mitigating the damage and hazards. Fire officials are proceeding with caution (at) the scene," the emergency services said in a post on social media.
Equipment and cranes were deployed to begin moving the derailed cars. Video from local news stations showed mangled train cars, some stacked atop each other, and smoke from grass fires drifting into the surrounding rural area.
"This will be an active scene for several days," Palo Pinto County emergency services said.
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What People Are Saying
Palo Pinto County Emergency Services District 1 said in a statement: "All personnel have been accounted for, and no injuries have been reported. The situation is currently stable, but not yet fully controlled.
"Fire officials are actively working to contain and extinguish them, and no structures are currently threatened."
Assistant Fire Chief Kent Farquhar said: "Initial entries we made with our hazmat team and firefighters showed nothing on the air monitors, so we were pretty confident nothing was leaking. Both visual observations and air monitor observations we noticed nothing."
What Happens Next
Federal and company investigators plan to examine the wreckage and rail infrastructure to determine what caused the derailment, and Union Pacific crews have been dispatched to the scene to support recovery and remediation efforts.
State and local agencies continued air monitoring and visual inspections to verify that no hazardous materials had escaped from the derailed cars; as of the latest reporting, officials had not identified the specific substances in each car.
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