February 13, 2023
The freight train that derailed Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, may not have exploded outright as some had feared, but it still managed to expel various toxic chemicals.
While officials have suggested that the deadly chemicals in the smoke that darkened the sky over the village do not pose a threat to human beings, some locals are not convinced, particularly as their animals have taken ill and in some cases perished.
What are the details?
According to National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham, the Norfolk Southern train was carrying 141 loaded cars, nine empty cars, and three locomotives. Around 50 cars went off the tracks.
Graham suggested that the suspected cause of the derailment was “mechanical issues on one of the railcar axles.”
A wheel bearing may have overheated, leading to a fire and, in turn, the derailment, reported WKBN.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obtained a video that shows what appears to be sparks and flames beneath the train as it passed an equipment plant in Salem, Ohio, approximately 20 miles away from where the train ultimately went off the rails.
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