Train’s Burning Gas Still Poses Danger
Burning propane spewed from wrecked railroad tank cars Monday, threatening to blow up additional cars loaded with the fuel and keeping the town’s entire population away from their homes.
“This is about as serious as it can get,” said Paul Thomsen, an emergency management official. “A detonation would be catastrophic.”
No injuries were reported.
The leaking gas blazed in a 200-foot wall of flames. At times, the fire was visible up to 13 miles away in New London. Firefighters were pulled back to let the fire burn.
Thirty-seven cars of the 81-car Wisconsin Central Ltd. freight train derailed just before dawn in this east-central Wisconsin city of 1,700 people. As the cars piled up, one of the train’s 14 propane tank cars exploded, destroying a nearby feed mill and forcing evacuations.
The 15 tank cars were loaded with 1 million pounds of propane, shipped liquefied and pressurized, Thomsen said.
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