• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Fires/Accidents/Disasters / Train falls off bluff near Guttenberg

Train falls off bluff near Guttenberg

July 9, 2008 By admin

Heavy rains may be to blame for a train derailment in northeast Iowa this morning. Four locomotives pulling a freight train fell from a bluff into the Mississippi River just south of Guttenberg at 3 a.m. Sue Miller is on the scene for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

"It looks like a boulder fell down from the bluff," Miller told Radio Iowa. "We don’t know yet if it was simultaneous with the derailment or if it happened to disrupt the tracks enough that the train, when it came upon it, was shifted off of the tracks."

Two employees of the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. A railroad spokesperson say it appears "heavy rain saturations" Tuesday weakened the bluff embankment, causing the rock slide.

Miller says all four train engines are spilling diesel fuel and oil in the river. She says clean up crews from the U.S. Coast Guard and the I-C & E railroad are working to contain the spill. In addition to the spill from the four train engines, five other train cars spilled grain. Two cars carrying ethanol derailed near the water but do not appear to be leaking.

Miller says it’s quite a mess, but getting the railroad back in business is a priority. "You’d be amazed at how fast they can clean these things up," Miller said. "They’ve got the money and the incentive to get this rail clear so they can get trains through." As of 10:30 this morning, the D.N.R. reported spilled fuel and oil reached about five miles downstream on the Mississippi River.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With: Department of Natural Resources, Travel

Featured Stories

All bodies of missing now recovered from rubble of collapsed Davenport building

Governor signs child care expansion into law

Iowa seniors have until July 1 to apply for new property tax break

Smoke from distant fires creates colorful sunrise in Iowa

DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division to merge into State Patrol

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Hawkeye women to play Virginia Tech

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 6/5/23

Iowa eliminated at NCAA regional

Iowa names Beth Goetz interim AD

Cyclone Trio Invited to USA Basketball U19 Training Camp

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC