OnsceneALERT
Sep 27, 20212 min
CRITICAL INCIDENT NOTIFICATION
RAILWAY INCIDENT
A Union Pacific train with hazardous cargo derailed at Texas 95 and Martin Luther King Boulevard in Smithville at 5 a.m. Sunday, leading to road closures and the evacuation of 20-25 homes. Nobody was injured and the city posted updates throughout the day on Facebook, stating around 1:45 p.m. that residents were allowed to return home.
The tanker cars were empty but some contained residual hydrochloric acid that leaked, according to the city’s Facebook post this morning. The Union Pacific HazMat team decontaminated the scene and air samples were taken of the evacuation zone to confirm that it was safe for people to return to their homes.
Sgt. Matthew Henderson with the Smithville Police Department said that the leaking tank was patched and treated with a neutralizing chemical that was then vacuumed out of the tank and transported off site.
“Everything is okay,” he said. “It was an empty tank for the most part, just residue inside the tank emitting a slight cloud and it was just because there was a heavy moisture in the air.”
The cause of the derailment has not been made public, Henderson said, but federal investigators, as well as investigators from Union Pacific, were on the scene.
The area remained closed to the public throughout the morning and Live Oak, Fourth Avenue, and the Martin Luther King Boulevard crossing at Texas 95 were blocked until about 2:15 pm. Residents were stuck in their neighborhood for about an hour and a half to two hours before Union Pacific workers uncoupled several train cars to clear a crossing point and allow access to the neighborhood again.
All roads are now reopened.
Photo Credit: City of Smithville, Texas
Source Agency (Austin-American Statesman)
Sourcing Link (Austin-American Statesman)
Alerting AgencyOnsceneALERT.com
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Incident Number
2-210926-4401
Alert Type
Critical Incident Notification
Incident Type
Railway Incident
Incident Occurred
September 26, 2021
Alert Posted
September 26, 2021
7:51 pm CST
Last Updated
September 26, 2021
7:51 pm CST
Incident Location
Smithville, Texas
END OF ALERT