Train cars continue to burn

Associated Press

MOUNT CARBON, W.Va.

Oil cars were still burning more than a day after a train carrying 3 million gallons of North Dakota crude derailed in a West Virginia snowstorm, shooting fireballs into the sky.

Hundreds of families were evacuated after losing their drinking water and electricity when 19 tanker cars slammed into each other and caught fire, leaking oil into a Kanawha River tributary and burning a nearby house down to its foundation.

“There’s nothing there,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, who toured the scene. “All you can see is a couple of blocks sticking out of the ground. There’s some pickup trucks out front completely burned to the ground.”

One person — the homeowner — was treated for smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported, according to the train company, CSX.