Mount Carbon, West Virginia: A train carrying more than 100 tankers of crude oil derailed in southern West Virginia on Monday, sending at least one into the Kanawha River, igniting at least 14 tankers and sparking a house fire, officials said.
One person was being treated for potential inhalation issues, but no other injuries were reported, according to a news release from CSX, the train company. Nearby residents were told to evacuate as state emergency response and environmental officials headed to the scene about 30 miles southeast of Charleston.
The state was under a winter storm warning and getting heavy snowfall at times, with as much as 5 inches in some places. It's not clear if the weather had anything to do with the derailment, which occurred about 1:20 EST (1820 GMT) along a flat stretch of rail.
As federal railway and hazardous materials officials were heading to the scene, the company said it's still investigating what caused the train to come off the tracks.
Public Safety spokesman Lawrence Messina said responders at the scene reported one tanker and possibly another went into the river. Messina said local emergency responders were having trouble getting to the house that caught fire.
Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Sayre said a reported 14 to 17 tankers caught fire or exploded.
James Bennett, emergency services coordinator for Fayette County, said a couple hundred families were evacuated as a precaution.
The rail company said it's still sorting out many specifics in its response.
The office of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, which has issued a state of emergency, said the tanker cars were loaded with Bakken crude from North Dakota and headed to Yorktown, Virginia.
