MECCA - Crews reported significant progress Tuesday in cleaning up a chemical spill after a train derailment Monday night near this farm worker community that triggered a precautionary evacuation of a nine-square-mile rural area.
….{snip}….
Residents near the crash site were rousted by emergency workers in the middle of the night and given minutes to flee.
Ernest Lo said he was awakened shortly after midnight by firefighters who pulled up to the gate of his Kimco Fish Farm on 69th Avenue.
“They were shouting, ‘Leave here right away! There’s poison in the air!” Lo said. “We grabbed our wallets and left.”
….{snip}….
No injuries reported from either the train accident or the chemical spill, which involved hydrochloric acid and phosphoric acid, officials said. The two spills were within about 100 to 200 yards of each other.
….{snip}….
The mishap forced Kinder Morgan Energy partners to shut down a 20-inch pipeline that moves gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from Colton to Phoenix.
….{snip}….
The derailment was the fourth Union Pacific train wreck in the Salton Sea area within the last year, according to records from the Federal Railroad Administration.
On April 3, 2007, blue-cheese salad dressing and a concrete sealant spilled when 19 cars derailed at Highway 111. On Sept. 16, one person was injured when a train struck a tractor-trailer truck.
Nov. 10, an engineer and a conductor were killed in Imperial County when two trains collided.
….{snip}….
The heart of Mecca’s agricultural industry lies about two miles from the derailment site.
….{snip}….
Staff Writer David Danelski contributed to this report.
Reach Steve Fetbrandt at 951-763-3473 or sfetbrandt@PE.com
highboldtage
Post a Comment