ROSEDALE, Md. (AP) - Train operator CSX Transportation on Wednesday pointed to a hazardous chemical in a rail car as the source of an explosion on a derailed train near Baltimore that sparked a fire and damaged buildings.
A company spokesman said late Wednesday that officials still weren't sure what caused the sodium chlorate to explode in the first place, but it ignited another chemical in a second car.
Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board said investigators were examining evidence and reviewing train video that shows the collision with a garbage truck that led to Tuesday afternoon's derailment. He told a news conference that the freight train was traveling 49 mph and that the engineer blew a whistle three times before the impact.
On Wednesday afternoon, workers used heavy cranes to move damaged rail cars. The mangled trash truck lay on its side on the side of the tracks. Next to the track, the corrugated metal walls of a warehouse were bent and warped.
