Freight train carrying hazardous materials plunge into Yellowstone River as bridge collapses

A bridge that crosses Yellowstone River in Montana collapsed early Saturday, plunging portions of a freight train carrying hazardous materials into rushing water below.

train cars were carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur, Stillwater County Disaster and Emergency Services said. Officials shut down drinking water intakes downstream while y evaluated danger after 6 a.m. accident. An Associated Press reporter witnessed a yellow substance coming out of some of tank cars.

David Stamey, county’s chief of emergency services, said re was no immediate danger for crews working at site, and hazardous material was being diluted by swollen river. re were three asphalt cars and four sulfur cars in river.

train crew was safe and no injuries were reported, Montana Rail Link spokesman Andy Garland said in a statement. asphalt and sulfur both solidify quickly when exposed to cooler temperatures, he said.

Railro crews were at scene in Stillwater County, near town of Columbus, about 40 miles (about 64 kilometers) west of Billings. area is in a sparsely populated section of Yellowstone River Valley, surrounded by ranch and farmland. river re flows away from Yellowstone National Park, which is about 110 miles (177 kilometers) southwest.

“We are committed to dressing any potential impacts to area as a result of this incident and working to understand reasons behind accident,” Garland said.

bridge collapse also took out a fiber-optic cable providing internet service to many customers in state, high-speed provider Global Net said. “This is major fiber route ... through Montana,” a recording on company’s phone line said Saturday. “This is affecting all Global Net customers. Connectivity will eir be down or extremely slow.”

In neighboring Yellowstone County, officials said y instituted emergency measures at water treatment plants due to “potential hazmat spill” and asked residents to conserve water.

cause of collapse is under investigation. river was swollen with recent heavy rains, but it’s unclear wher that was a factor. Yellowstone saw record flooding in 2022 that caused extensive damage to Yellowstone National Park and jacent towns in Montana. Robert Bea, a retired engineering professor at University of California Berkeley who has analyzed causes of hundreds of major disasters, said repeated years of heavy river flows provided a clue to possible cause.

“ high water flow translates to high forces acting directly on pier and, importantly, on river bottom,” Bea said. “You can have erosion or scour that removes support from foundation. High forces translate to a high likelihood of a structural or foundation failure that could act as a trigger to initiate accident.”

An old highway bridge that paralleled railro bridge — toger, y were called Twin Bridges — was removed in 2021 after Montana Department of Transportation determined it was in imminent danger of falling. It wasn’t immediately clear when railro bridge was constructed or when it was last inspected. Bea said investigators would also want to look at wher re was wear or rust in bridge components as well as a record of maintenance, repair and inspections.

Federal Railro ministration officials were at scene working with local authorities. “As part of our investigation, we have requested and will thoroughly review a copy of recent bridge inspection reports from owner for compliance with federal Bridge Safety Standards,” agency said in a statement Saturday, noting that responsibility for inspections lies with bridge owners.

Kelly Hitchcock of Columbus Water Users shut off flow of river water into an irrigation ditch downstream from collapsed bridge to prevent contents from tank cars from reaching nearby farmland. Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office called group Saturday morning to warn it about collapse, Hitchcock said.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that sulfur is a common element used as a fertilizer as well as an insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide.