Posted 2/9/2003 2:44 PM Updated 2/9/2003 9:24 PM
Train derailment forces Illinois town
to clear out
TAMAROA, Ill. (AP) — A freight train carrying hazardous chemicals
derailed in the middle of town Sunday and authorities evacuated as
many as 1,000 people in a three-mile area. One chemical leaked and
caught fire.
No injuries were reported after 16 to 21 cars
of a northbound Illinois Central-Canadian National train derailed
during the morning, authorities said.
"It sounded like a (automobile) wreck, but I
didn't pay attention to it," said Nina Rich, 74, who was at home
when the train derailed and later became one of the evacuees.
Officials expected residents, including
nearly everyone in this town of about 800 people, would be out of
their homes until at least Monday while cleanup crews worked to
stabilize the chemicals and then right the derailed cars.
"There's nothing you can do about it, so it's
not worth getting upset about," said evacuee Elizabeth Stein.
Residents up to a mile from the scene were
evacuated because the train was carrying vinyl chloride,
formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid, Perry County Sheriff Keith
Kellerman said. "Those are the three chemicals we can identify now,"
he said.
All three chemicals are hazardous to breathe
and could cause death in high concentrations, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many emergency workers
were kept away from the trains because of the danger, Kellerman
said.
