A freight train carrying crude oil derailed in western Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon leaving several people injured and sending multiple train cars plummeting into an Allegheny River tributary.
The accident happened when the Norfolk Southern train collided with a heavy construction vehicle that was crossing the tracks near a sewage treatment plant in Harmar Township, outside of Pittsburgh, according to TribLive.
The impact derailed 17 cars, knocking some of them into Little Deer Creek near where it merges with the mighty Allegheny, the outlet said.
Two train operators and the driver of the construction vehicle were transported from the scene for medical treatment. The severity of their injuries was unclear.
One of the tanker cars was leaking petroleum, a first responder told the outlet.
“The cars that were affected were carrying a sweet crude, it’s a form of oil. It’s going to be very similar to diesel fuel or kerosene,” an Allegheny County Emergency Management Services official on the scene told the site.
“And the other cars were buffer cars, so they were either empty cars or cars that were carrying plastic pellets that were used as buffers around cars that are carrying a combustible material.”
The town’s water line was also damaged in the accident and was being repaired, officials reportedly said.