By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
HAMLET — Update 7:35 p.m.: Kristin Seay, a spokeswoman with the CSX corporate communications in Jacksonville, Fla., told The Pee Dee Post that the minor derailment of one box car and tank tanker resulted in no injuries, “no leaks, no spills, no breach.”
Seay said it’s a rather common occurrence and the incident took place on Wednesday as the train was being built. No car left the tracks; everything was “upright and inline,” Seay said.
Seay said the tank car was empty. She was not sure what, if anything, was in the box car.
* * * Original report * * *
A train derailment that occurred at the CSX rail yard near the middle of Wednesday afternoon “is still being investigated,” according to an unidentified CSX employee.
The emergency call to 911 was reported at 3:24 p.m. Emergency dispatchers relayed to firefighters from the Hamlet Fire Department that multiple cars that carried hazardous materials, though the indicated the cars were empty at the time of derailment.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Firefighters with the Hamlet Fire Department are permitted access to the scene of a train derailment at Yard A of the CSX facility along state Route 177 north of Hamlet.
Upon arrive to the scene, a lone Hamlet Fire Department truck was delayed in responding to the incident in Yard A due to a slow-moving northbound train that prevented firefighters from crossing the tracks to access the scene of the derailment.
The Pee Dee Post was stopped, initially along with the firetruck, in the Yard A parking lot. After the train passed, the firetruck was permitted access to the scene. However, one CSX employee said the Post was trespassing and ordered the camera to be put away.
Taking photos, the man said, could do “a lot of harm.”
The employee then called for a second employee — who also declined to identify himself — to come to the scene. The second man said the incident is “still under investigation” and refused the Post access to the scene.
“You’re on private property,” the man said. “I’m politely asking you to leave.”
It’s unknown if anyone was injured in the incident. A phone message left with Kristin Seay, a spokeswoman with the CSX corporate communications in Jacksonville, Fla., was not immediately returned.
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