4 BNSF employees released from hospital after train derailment

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Wis. — Four rail employees who were hospitalized after a Thursday train derailment have been released.

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Officials from Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad said the crew members had minor injuries, WXOW reported.

The train derailed around 12:15 p.m. near De Soto, Wisconsin on Thursday, CNN reported.

The area is surrounded by the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

BNSF’s general director of public affairs, Lena Kent, said that two of the train’s three engines derailed. Two container cars fell into the Mississippi River. They did not carry hazardous materials. Other cars that derailed were carrying paint and lithium-ion batteries but stayed on the land.

Despite the majority of the cars staying on land, hazardous materials crews remained on site Thursday evening since the train was transporting the batteries which can have a chemical reaction if they come in contact with water, CNN reported.

The two cars that landed in the river will be removed on Saturday, the wildlife refuge manager, Sabrina Chandler, told the newspaper. But BNSF has not confirmed that information as of Friday afternoon.

Chandler also said that what had initially been thought of as paint, was actually coffee creamer that had spilled when the train derailed, the Journal Sentinel reported.

The derailment’s cause has not been found.