Area evacuated after Kentucky train derailment

A major train crash occurred in Kentucky yesterday, when several train cars carrying flammable substances derailed and exploded.

A section of Interstate 65 was closed, and many nearby homes, schools and businesses evacuated due to fears of contamination in the area due to the chemical fire.

Bullitt County resident Daymon Strange said he was outside his home less than a half-mile from the crash site when he heard an explosion.

“I turned around and looked and there was fire at least 500 feet in the air,” he said in a telephone interview. “I’ve never seen such a fire. It was huge.”

Strange said he smelled the fumes even though they were blowing away from his home.

This Kentucky train derailment was the second train explosion in two days. On Monday, a similar train accident occurred in Central Kentucky, when four train cars crashed into two parked locomotives and caught fire. This train crash also prompted an evacuation due to a spilled chemical.