Derailed Oil Train in West Virginia Still Burning Days After Accident

A train that derailed in West Virginia continues to burn more than a day after the original accident.

The New York Times reports that the CSX train was carrying millions of pounds of crude oil when it derailed in Boomer, WV. The train consisted of two locomotives and 109 tanker cars. Of the 109 tanker cars, 26 had derailed, and 19 caught fire. The derailment occurred around 1:20 p.m. Feb. 16. The train was carrying oil from North Dakota to a port in Virginia.

The rails the train was riding on are adjacent to the Kanawah River, which provides drinking water to the roughly 2,000 residents in that area of the state. The water utility company temporarily closed a treatment center, and has since resumed service, but said that its customers should boil their water before use.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a state of emergency for Fayette County, where the accident took place, and neighboring Kanawah County.

Plumes of smoke from the burning oil have been visible throughout the region since the time of the accident. Firefighters from Boomer and neighboring communities have been working around the clock to get the fire under control. Nature is not providing them much assistance in their fight, as the temperatures have hovered in the low teens.

A veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars told the Times that the explosion caused by the derailment felt like a large bomb blast because of the intense heat and pressure.

At least one house was completely destroyed by the explosion, which caused flames that reached miles into the sky. Other residents in the vicinity of the derailment were also ordered to evacuate their homes. Roughly 300 people were affected by the evacuation order.

There were no deaths related to the accident, and it seems that there was only one injury, according to the Times. The cause of the accident is still not known.