A bridge that crosses Yellowstone River in Montana collapsed early on Saturday morning, causing portions of a freight train carrying hazardous materials to plunge into the flooded river below, officials said.
The train cars were carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur, said David Stamey, Stillwater county’s chief of emergency services. Officials shut down drinking water intakes downstream while they evaluated the danger. An Associated Press reporter witnessed a yellow liquid pouring out of tank cars.
However, Stamey said there was no immediate danger for the crews working at the site, and the hazardous material was being diluted by the swollen river.
The train crew was safe and no injuries were reported after the bridge collapse, according to a statement from Andy Garland, spokesman for the Montana Rail Link.
Garland said “several” tank cars were partially submerged in the river early on Saturday, and railroad crews were at the scene in Stillwater county, near the town of Columbus, about 40 miles (about 64km) west of Billings.
“We are committed to addressing any potential impacts to the area as a result of this incident and working to understand the reasons behind the accident,” Garland said.
In neighboring Yellowstone county, officials said they instituted emergency measures at water treatment plants due to the “potential hazmat spill” and asked residents to conserve water.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation, he said. The river was swollen with recent heavy rains, but it is unclear whether that was a factor.
The site is in a sparsely populated area in the Yellowstone River valley. It about 110 miles (177km) north-east of Yellowstone national park.
The Montana disaster emergency services has been notified. Federal Railroad Administration officials were at the scene.
Kelly Hitchcock of the Columbus Water Users shut off the flow of river water into an irrigation ditch downstream from the collapsed bridge to prevent contents from the tank cars from reaching nearby farmland.
Hitchcock said the Stillwater county sheriff’s Office called the group on Saturday morning to warn it about the collapse.
The Yellowstone River saw record flooding in 2022 that caused extensive damage to Yellowstone national park and adjacent towns in Montana. Robert Bea, a retired engineering professor at the University of California Berkeley who has analyzed the causes of hundreds of major disasters, said repeated flooding provided a clue to the possible cause.
“The high water flow translates to high forces acting directly on the pier and, importantly, on the river bottom,” Bea said. “You can have erosion or scour that removes support from the foundation. High forces translate to a high likelihood of a structural or foundation failure that could act as a trigger to initiate the accident.”
Bea said investigators would also want to look at whether there was wear or rust in bridge components as well as a record of maintenance, repair and inspections.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that sulfur is a common element used as a fertilizer as well as an insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide.
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