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The accident record of Norfolk Southern Railway grew longer after another of its trains derailed outside of Springfield, Ohio, on March 4.
Norfolk Southern confirmed in a statement that 20 cars of a 212-car train veered off the tracks around 5 p.m. near the Clark County Fairgrounds.
Residents within 1,000 feet of the crash were asked to shelter in place out of an “abundance of caution,” according to the Clark County Emergency Management Agency.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office reported that emergency personnel and hazmat crews responded to derailment.
No hazardous materials were aboard the train, and no injuries were reported, Norfolk Southern said.
Springfield is around 200 miles southwest of East Palestine, and located between Columbus and Dayton.
The Springfield area derailment happened a little more than a month after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.
On Feb. 3, a 151-car Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed in the village.
When the train crashed, 38 rail cars derailed, and a fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars.
Of the 20 cars carrying hazardous materials, 11 derailed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Fears escalated in the immediate aftermath of the wreck. Seeking to avoid an explosion that officials claimed would send shrapnel into the air, vinyl chloride was intentionally released and burned on Feb. 6, sending a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles around and was likened to a mushroom cloud caused by a nuclear weapon.
Situated in eastern Ohio a mile from the Pennsylvania border, East Palestine is a village of 4,761 residents. People in East Palestine and surrounding communities in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania continue to recover as questions remain over the short-term and long-term safety of air, soil, and water.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has received ongoing criticism for not publicly commenting about the East Palestine derailment until 10 days after it happened, and not visiting the site until Feb. 23, one day after former President Donald Trump arrived in the town.Closely Monitoring
After learning of the derailment near Springfield on March 4, Buttigieg wrote in a tweet that he was briefed by the Federal Railroad Administration and had also talked to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, another figure who is facing widespread complaints about his response to the East Palestine disaster.
“No hazardous material release has been reported, but we will continue to monitor closely and FRA personnel are en route,” Buttigieg said.
DeWine said in his own tweet, “Late this afternoon, an @nscorp train derailed in Clark County. We don’t believe hazardous materials were involved.”
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, and the Ohio Stte Highway Patrol arrived to support first responders, DeWine reported.
“President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg called me to offer help from the federal government,” DeWine added.
