FERRYVILLE, Wis. — Two trains tumbled into the Mississippi River on Thursday when a freight train derailed in southwestern Wisconsin, authorities said.
At least two workers aboard the train medical attention after the BNSF Railway cars fell from a bluff in Crawford County, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The extent of their injuries is unknown, police said.
Update 10:28 p.m. EDT April 27: According to officials, four train employees were taken to an area hospital for medical evaluation, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. No hazard exists to the public, according to Jim Hackett, director of emergency management for Crawford County.
Original report: There were 20 cars traveling when the train derailed at about 12:15 p.m. CDT near the villages of Ferryville and De Soto, Crawford County Emergency Management Specialist Marc Myhre told WKBT-TV.
It was not immediately clear what the train cars were hauling, but a BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent said in a statement that it was carrying “freight of all kinds,” the Journal Sentinel reported. Two of the three locomotives were derailed along with several train cars, according to the newspaper.
Two cars ended up in the river but washed ashore, WKBT reported. Hazardous materials believed to be batteries were allegedly on board the train but do not pose a threat to the public, officials told the television station.
All crew members have been accounted for, The Associated Press reported.
The Black Hawk Bridge that connects Lansing, Iowa, to western Wisconsin is closed, according to the Journal Sentinel.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation, Kent said.