Train Car Filmed Glowing 20 Miles From Derailment Site in Ohio

Security footage showing a glow from the underside of train car about 20 miles before the site of a derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has raised further questions over the details of the incident.

The footage of the fiery axle was captured by a camera at Butech Bliss, an industrial equipment supplier in Salem, Ohio, as it traveled east past the business.

A representative for Butech Bliss said the video was captured at 8.12 pm on February 3, about 43 minutes before a Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks in East Palestine, further down the line, at 8.55 pm.

Early reports said the derailment caused a large fire that prompted authorities to order evacuations and carry out a controlled release of toxic chemicals that were being transported. However, the footage from Butech Bliss indicates that a fire may have broken out on the train prior to the derailment.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which published this footage on February 10, investigators at The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they believed “a mechanical issue with one of the rail car axles is responsible for the accident.”

In a press conference a day after the derailment, on February 4, NTSB board member Michael Graham said the train consisted of “141 load cars, nine empties, and three locomotives.” Twenty of the cars contained hazardous materials, 10 of which derailed, he said. Five of those derailed cars were carrying vinyl chloride but Graham said the NTSB had “not confirmed vinyl chloride has been released other than from the pressure release devices.”

On Monday, February 13, the Environmental Protection Agency"said":https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933 it was continuing to screen homes in the area for vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride. By Sunday, 291 homes have been screened and no vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride had been detected, the EPA said. Another 181 homes remained to be screened, they added. Credit: Butech Bliss via Storyful

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