NATIONAL NEWS

Derailed train cars removed from river in Wisconsin

Apr 28, 2023, 8:01 AM

Recovery work is shown at the scene of a train derailment along Hwy 35 Thursday, April 27, 2023 in ...

Recovery work is shown at the scene of a train derailment along Hwy 35 Thursday, April 27, 2023 in Crawford County just south of DeSoto, Wis. A freight train derailed along the Mississippi River in southwestern Wisconsin Thursday, possibly injuring one crew member and sending two cars into the water, officials said. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Crews removed two rail cars from the Mississippi River after a freight train derailed in southwestern Wisconsin, leaving four railway employees with minor injuries, officials said Friday.

Thursday’s derailment in Crawford County involved two of the train’s three locomotives and 10 cars carrying a variety of freight, including paint and lithium-ion batteries, said BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent.

She said officials were still investigating what caused the derailment near De Soto, a village located about 85 miles (137 kilometers) northwest of Madison.

The Federal Railroad Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates safety across the nation’s railroads, tweeted that it was sending a team to the site to gather information and help local emergency workers. Nearly 30 state, local and public agencies responded to the derailment, according to Crawford County Emergency Management Director James Hackett.

The derailment blocked the main railway track in both directions and sent two rail cars into the river, Kent said. She said neither contained hazardous materials but an absorbent boom was put in place to reduce the possibility of pollution.

The two containers were removed after boat crews secured them to the river bank, preventing them from traveling any farther south down the river, Hackett said. He said officials would provide more information later Friday.

Rock was being brought to the scene from nearby quarries to build a platform for providing officials with access to remove the train, said De Soto Fire Chief Chris Mussatti.

After the derailment about 12:15 p.m. Thursday, four BNSF crew members were taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries and released, Kent said.

Gov. Tony Evers tweeted that he was briefed on the derailment and getting regular updates from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources and state emergency management officials.

His spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, said it wasn’t clear if the derailment caused any environmental contamination. Email messages were left Thursday and Friday with a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Thursday’s derailment came almost three months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Officials there decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion.

Hundreds of people had to evacuate in Raymond, Minnesota, last month after a BNSF train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire.

National News

Associated Press

Ex-Caltrain employee and contractor charged with building secret homes with public funds

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former employee of Caltrain, a mass transit system that connects Silicon Valley with San Francisco, and a former contractor for the transit agency allegedly used public funds to build two small apartments for themselves inside two train stations, authorities said Thursday. San Mateo County prosecutors charged Joseph Vincent Navarro, a […]

5 minutes ago

Associated Press

Oregon city can’t limit church’s homeless meal services, federal judge rules

BROOKINGS, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a southern Oregon city can’t limit a local church’s homeless meal services. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke found that an ordinance passed by the small city of Brookings, on the southern Oregon coast, violated the religious freedom rights of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, KGW reported. […]

7 minutes ago

Associated Press

Baltimore bridge collapse puts the highly specialized role of ship’s pilot under the spotlight

The expert pilots who navigate massive ships in and out of Baltimore’s port must often maneuver with just 2 feet (0.6 meter) of clearance from the channel floor and memorize charts, currents and every other possible maritime variable. The highly specialized role — in which a pilot temporarily takes control of a ship from its […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

California man convicted of killing his mother is captured in Mexico after ditching halfway house

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man convicted of killing his mother as a teenager was captured in Mexico a week after he walked away from a halfway house, violating the conditions of his probation, authorities said. Ike Nicholas Souzer, 20, was arrested Wednesday in the coastal city of Rosarito by U.S. Customs […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Oklahoma judge rules death row inmate not competent to be executed

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge ruled Thursday that a death row inmate is not competent to be executed for his role in the 1999 slayings of a mother and son. Pittsburg County Judge Michael Hogan issued an order in the case involving 61-year-old James Ryder in that county. “The court could go on […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Law enforcement executed search warrants at Atlantic City mayor’s home, attorney says

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A lawyer for Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said law enforcement officers visited the mayor’s home Thursday morning to execute search warrants, but would not reveal further information, including whether anyone was taken into custody. Edwin Jacobs confirmed that officers went to Small’s home with search warrants, but would not […]

5 hours ago

Derailed train cars removed from river in Wisconsin