Residents safe after Wyandotte train derailment — Cleanup continues
WYANDOTTE, Okla. — The city of Wyandotte continues to clean up following a train derailment that happened Saturday evening.
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Wyandotte Mayor Leon Crow told us earlier today that BNSF Railroad crews arrived on scene around 2:30 a.m., and completed much of the work before daybreak.
They’ve remained on the scene throughout most of today.
First, they had to remove the 17 to 19 railroad cars that were derailed from the tracks – before removing the railroad ties that the train was carrying – and damaged parts of the track.
Mayor Crow says no hazardous chemicals were being transported on the train.
He says BNSF crews anticipate having the Main Street crossing and railroad line to be back open to traffic by early tomorrow morning – following repairs to the track.
“I will say, Burlington Northern is a well-oiled machine. I mean, one crew comes in and does one thing – and somebody – I mean – I’ve been pretty impressed and been very thankful for the conversations that I’ve had with them,” said Leon Crow, Wyandotte Mayor & Emergency Manager for Wyandotte Nation.
Mayor Crow says another salvage crew with BNSF will soon arrive to haul the derailed train cars out of town.
The incident happened just after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday when Wyandotte Nation authorities say calls about the train began coming in.
Many of the cars were derailed at the Main Street crossing, just north of Broadway Street.
Officials say, thankfully, no one was injured.
Wyandotte resident Kevin Palmer lives near the railroad tracks – and was working in his shop at the time of the incident.
He says he noticed the unusually high speed of the passing train – along with sparks coming from below – right before it derailed – sending train cars into neighboring yards.
“And before it wrecked, I was sitting there and I told them ‘Man, that train’s kinda moving’. And all of a sudden, we heard like a loud bang and we ran around the shop and there was dust everywhere and we were trying to figure out what the heck was going on,” said Kevin Palmer, Wyandotte Resident/Lives Near Railroad Tracks.
Again, no one was injured.
The crossing is expected to be open before daylight tomorrow.
