COLUMBUS, Ohio – A government agency reports that it was a broken rail that led to a freight train derailment near the Ohio Expo Center in 2012 that caused a series of fiery explosions and forced residents from nearby homes to be evacuated.
The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that a broken rail, which “exhibited evidence of rolling contact fatigue,” caused 17 cars of the eastbound Norfolk & Southern train to derail shortly after 2:00 a.m. on July 11, 2012.
The derailment of the 17 cars – from the third to the 19th car of the 100-car train — destroyed both main tracks.
The 12th, 13th and 14th cars were tankers carrying denatured ethanol, a hazardous material, and when one of the cars was punctured during the derailment the substance ignited in a large pool fire which in turn engulfed the two other tank cars.
Witnesses reported “multiple energetic fire eruptions” when the cars ruptured, the report said.
None of the train crew was but one person near the scene suffered minor burns.
About 100 people in a one-mile radius of the derailment were evacuated.
The NTSB report estimates the damage at $1.2 million.