Cleanup underway after freight train derails in North Bergen carrying flammable liquid
No threat issued to the public, officials say
NORTH BERGEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- Clean-up efforts are underway after nearly a dozen freight train cars derailed in North Bergen, New Jersey on Tuesday.
A CSX freight train derailed near 2425 Tonnelle Ave. around 3:15 p.m.
Officials say 11 freight cars derailed, and seven were leaning. They say that three rail cars that were on their side were of particular concern, due to the liquids inside them.
One of them contained ethyl acetate, which is highly flammable. The other two contained liquids, one with holly propane and the other with hex aldehyde, which are also flammable.
Officials with CSX said no liquids leaked or spilled.
Hazmat teams worked to safely mitigate the situation, and diluted the ethyl acetate with large amounts of water, according to North Bergen public safety officials.
North Bergen Police, Fire Department and EMS units were also on the scene assessing the situation, according to officials.
No injuries have been reported, and the North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco said there is no danger to the public. The CSX tracks don't serve any passenger trains, but they cross over just above.
As a precaution, Route 3 was closed in both directions near Tonnelle Avenue, but reopened late Tuesday night. Tonnelle Avenue itself remained open.
"There's no impact, there's no crash that we could see. And CSX is investigating what caused this," North Bergen Public Safety Commissioner Allen Pasqual said.
Governor Mikie Sherrill thanked the first responders for quickly mitigating the potential disaster.
CSX is a private company responsible for the trains and tracks. It brought it cranes that will work through the night to pull the cars upright and get them back on tracks.
Authorities said that New Jersey Transit service was not impacted.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
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