3 Railroad Workers Badly Burned at Train Derailment Site in Louisville Kentucky

November 2nd, 2012 |

LOUISVILLE, KY — Officials with the Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency told the media that a fire broke out and injured five contractors working on a derailed train car containing a highly flammable chemical.

Five contractors were injured, one of them critically, in the cleanup of a train derailment where a hot torch ignited a fire and caused the evacuation of residents in the nearby community of West Point, KY due to the presence of dangerous chemicals.

The accident occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at a train derailment site that occurred the previous Monday in southwest Jefferson County.

west-point-ky-train-derailment-and-fire-map

Map showing location of train derailment and fire near the border of Indiana and Kentucky on October 31, 2012 in West Point, KY near Dixie Highway and Katherine Station Rd where dangerous chemicals caused the evacuation of nearby residents.

People who live and work within 1.2 miles of the site in southwest Jefferson County and the entire Hardin County community of West Point were ordered to evacuate Wednesday afternoon while firefighters tried to douse the chemical blaze that left three workers severely burned.

The three workers suffered severe burns and were taken to University of Louisville hospital. Authorities had not released their names but said one was in very critical condition, another in critical condition and the third in serious condition. A previous briefing had the three in better condition.

The incident remains under investigation at this time.

Posted by Gordon &amp Elias, a FELA lawyer and Kentucky railroad injury lawyer who publishes train accidents and FELA legal news from across the United States.