About 20 cars of a Norfolk Southern cargo train derailed near Springfield, Ohio Saturday evening, the second derailment in a month.
But unlike the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a company spokesperson said there were no hazardous materials aboard the train, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The train, which did not have passengers, derailed around 5 p.m. Saturday by State Route 41, near the Clark County Fairgrounds, the Associated Press reported. Springfield is about 46 miles (74 kilometers) west of the state capital of Columbus, Ohio.
A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern said about 20 cars of a 212-car train went off the tracks Saturday while traveling south near Springfield. The Twitter statement said no one was injured and “There is NO risk to the public.”
Residents within 1,000 feet of the derailment were asked to shelter in place out of an “abundance of caution,” the Clark County Emergency Management Agency reported. The derailment occurred near State Route 41.
The derailment left more than 1,500 residents without power, Clark County reported, according to CBS News.
Though no one was injured, nearby neighborhoods in both towns were imperiled. The crash prompted an evacuation of about half the town’s roughly 5,000 residents, an ongoing multigovernmental emergency response, and lingering worries among villagers of long-term health impacts.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Saturday night that he had been briefed by Federal Railroad Administration staff about the derailment, and had also spoken to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
