Fire continues to burn Wednesday after a train carrying oil derailed in New Brunswick, Canada Tuesday.
The train consisted of 122 cars and four locomotives. Only eight were transporting crude oil and propane from Canada, which were destined for an Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Although there is no official explanation to why it occurred, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board Manager Daniel Holbrook reported that faulty brakes and a broken axil might have caused the incident.
“Preliminary reports were that the train was proceeding, and while proceeding experienced what we call is an undesired brake application,’’ he said.
Fifteen cars and a locomotive just so happened to derail. The freight cars then caught on fire, causing residents within a 1.24-mile radius to evacuate their homes.
There are no major environmental damages occurred but the fire continues to spread.
This derailment is one out of many other similar events that have increased major concerns as far as the transportation of oil via train.
Communities and rail officials located near rail lines are the most concerned about the danger it induces. (image)
According to a report by CBS News:
“In July, 47 people were killed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, when a train carrying crude oil derailed. Another oil train from North Dakota derailed and exploded in Alabama in November, causing no deaths but releasing an estimated 749,000 gallons of oil from 26 tanker cars, adding to concerns about the safety of such shipments.”
Fortunately, there were no reported deaths or injuries in this case, but people are still on the fence about the issue.
How many more trains need to derail and explode before we admit there’s a problem? http://t.co/4lgTAemUC8 @ThomasMulcair
— Scott McGregor (@scott_mcgregor) January 8, 2014
What caused NB oil train to derail? Bad maintenance. Bad breaks, 2 heavy a load, excessive speed. 150 ppl are homeless & breathing toxic air
— bmaggiemay (@bmaggiemay) January 8, 2014
A news report on the train derailment that happened in Quebec last July.
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