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Home » Climate + Energy » Oil Train Explodes in Alabama

Oil Train Explodes in Alabama

SwatchJunkies

November 8, 2013

Reuters is reporting that an oil train derailed in Alabama earlier today resulting in a huge explosion that sent flames 300 feet into the sky. No injuries are reported so far. Early accounts say that 20 cars derailed and 11 were still on fire as of 3 pm Eastern time.

Oil train fires can be so dangerous that emergency responders are often unable to extinguish the blazes. Earlier this year, an oil train derailed in Quebec, killing 47 people in the resulting explosion. About two weeks ago, an oil-bearing train derailed and exploded in rural Alberta, forcing an evacuation but not claiming any lives. In Alabama, emergency crews have also apparently decided to let the flames burn out, which could take 24 hours.

The trains were reportedly carrying Bakken oil on a Genesee & Wyoming train. (A local Fox station is reporting that the train is part of the Gulf Coast Short Line Railroad.) According to many reports, the fire has completely consumed a trestle over a slough.

There’s a direct Northwest connection to the events in Alabama:

Fox has some very sobering images of the accident scene. ABC News is reporting that three cars exploded and that 12 are burning. Aerial footage of the scene clearly shows oil in the water of the slough.

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Eric de Place

Eric de Place spearheaded Sightline’s work on energy policy for two decades.

About Sightline

Sightline Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank providing leading original analysis of democracy, forests, energy, and housing policy in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, British Columbia, and beyond.

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