Drone footage captured the destruction caused when a freight train carrying new vehicles was involved in a massive derailment in northern Arizona.
The Coconino County Emergency Management agency said that 23 BNSF train cars were badly damaged in the incident, which took place east of Williams, Arizona, at around midnight on Wednesday.
And the agency captured the scale of the derailment using drones that flew over the rails, where dozens of overturned train cars could be seen.
The cars that came off the rails were carrying a variety of new cars, trucks and vans, with photos from the scene showing heavily damaged freight cars and vehicles. No one was injured in the incident.
Coconino County Emergency Management officials arrived at the scene early on Thursday morning to confirm that no hazardous materials were involved in the accident.
Officials say that there was no damage to any nearby homes or to the county’s infrastructure.
“It was a pretty major derailment,” said Tim Carter with Coconino Emergency Management. “And to have no injury, no loss of life is pretty impressive.”
BNSF is working to get the track cleared and to start its investigation into what went wrong. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has also sent an inspector to carry out an investigation.
“BNSF Railway can confirm that at approximately 11.20 pm on June 7th, approximately 20 automobile cars derailed in Williams, AZ (35 miles west of Flagstaff, AZ). No injuries or haz mat involved. Cause is under investigation,” the company said in a statement.
