http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0452C9F5-61F7-414B-849B-5FB5E46CE573 What's with all the train problems in TX in the last day or two?
Train Derails On South Side
LAST UPDATE: 5/4/2004 6:33:26 AM
Posted By: Angela Becerra
(SAN ANTONIO) -- Three people were injured and more than 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled into the San Antonio River today when two Union Pacific freight trains collided on a bridge just south of downtown San Antonio.
Two locomotives and five cars of a southbound freight train hauling commodities including detergent and beer tumbled off the bridge and into the river, while another seven cars derailed onto nearby streets, according to San Antonio police.
Two engineers leapt from the engines as the trains began to topple off the 70 year old concrete Union Pacific bridge, according to San Antonio police sergeant Gabe Trevino. He says a third person, described as a vagrant who was sleeping under the bridge at the time, was also hospitalized. All are suffering from non life threatening injuries, according to hospital officials.
One locomotive struck the side of the other train and derailed.
"The engineers said they could feel the vibration coming towards them, they knew what was about to happen, so they jumped out of the train," Trevino told 1200 WOAI news.
The locomotives discharged thousands of gallons of Diesel fuel into the river, leaving a plume of potentially hazardous chemicals stretching downstream for more than a mile.
"We usually don't have the locomotives fall into the river, they're usually on dry land, so that is presenting a problem for us," said San Antonio Fire Lieutenant Robert Aguilar, who is in charge of the department's hazardous materials crew.
Dozens of firefighters, as well as officers of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, erected dikes and lowered booms into the river in hopes of stopping the spill from reaching environmentally sensitive areas southeast of San Antonio. The river eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
"Right now we have a series of flotation devices across the San Antonio River in four to five different locations," District Fire Chief Randy Jenkins said. "We have also lowered the river by closing several of the floodgates. We hope that these flotation devices capture the Diesel fuel which is lighter than water and is floating on the surface."
The derailment also caused major traffic tie-ups southeast of downtown, and Jenkins said some streets in the area, including two major thoroughfares, are expected to remain closed at least for 24 hours.
The incident happened less than a block from San Antonio Breckenridge High Schools, but school officials and firefighters quickly determined that the trains were not carrying hazardous materials and classes continued as usual today.
Officials say the southbound train 'switched' onto a track where the northbound train was already traveling. So far, no word on what caused the mishap to occur.
Pakistan Airports on Alert after Hijacking Threat 04 May 2004 14:17:49 GMT
ISLAMABAD, May 4 (Reuters) - Pakistan has put its airports on high alert after receiving information of a possible attempt to stage a hijack by an unspecified "terrorist" group, an Airport Security Force statement said on Tuesday.
Entry to airports across the country would be restricted during the red alert, the statement said.
"Based on credible information of a possible hijacking by a terrorist group, a red alert has been declared at all airports in order to thwart any such attempt," it said. A spokesman at the Civil Aviation Authority said it had received instructions from the defence ministry to go to red alert at all airports from Monday.
The instructions gave no reason, he said, for the heightened state of alert, which is relatively frequent in Pakistan. The Airport Security Force statement said entry passes to airports had been temporarily suspended. Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S. war on terror, has seen a spate of deadly attacks by suspected Islamic militants. Link Here