SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — About 20 cars of a Norfolk Southern cargo train derailed near Springfield Saturday evening, officials said.
But there have been no reported injuries and no hazardous materials were aboard the train, a company spokesperson told The Columbus Dispatch.
The train, which did not have passengers, derailed around 5 p.m. by State Route 41, near the Clark County Fairgrounds, the Dispatch reported. Springfield is about 46 miles (74 km) west of the state capital of Columbus, Ohio.
About 20 cars of the 212-car train derailed while traveling south, the Norfolk Southern spokesperson said.
The Clark County Emergency Management Agency has asked residents within 1,000 feet of the derailment to shelter in place, but the agency said it has not issued formal evacuation orders.
In an update at 8:50 p.m. EDT, the agency said officials are working to make sure that no hazardous materials were involved.
On Feb. 3, 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, in northeast Ohio near Pennsylvania, derailed and several of the train's cars carrying hazardous materials burned.
Though no one was injured, nearby neighborhoods in both states 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.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown issued a statement following the derailment:
Sandusky, Steubenville, East Palestine, and now Springfield - four Norfolk Southern derailments in less than five months because this corporation has been more concerned with its profit margin than with Ohioans’ safety. Ohio communities should not be forced to live in fear of another disaster. It’s unacceptable - it’s why we must pass my bipartisan Railway Safety Act with Senator Vance, now.
RELATED:
- Residents frustrated, demanding straight answers one month after East Palestine train derailment
- Sandusky leaders say cooperation from Norfolk Southern improved after East Palestine train derailment
- East Palestine residents express concerns to Norfolk Southern during meeting
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