YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Crews are working to determine what caused the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train near Maple Street in Fort Mill Friday afternoon.
Cranes were used to clear the cars from the track, but there is still debris on the ground.
While the trains began operating at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, the damaged cars on the derailed train cannot be salvaged, officials say.
“They have been doing repairs on the railroad, right through this area here,” neighbor Robert Ware said. “Last three months, four months, that may have something to do with it.”
The cleanup is still having an impact on residents.
IMAGES: Train derails in York County
Officials shut down one of the access gates to the Anne Springs Close Greenway. The closure only applies to the entrance off Springfield Parkway at Adventure Road.
Norfolk Southern said 16 cars jumped the tracks in a rural area. Some overturned on the gravel and others overturned in Steele Creek.
Sunday morning, a couple of emergency crews took the trail to get down to the train tracks.
Norfolk Southern officials said crews have been working nonstop remove the cars off the ground and embankment.
"It’s very fortunate and lucky, with the strawberry festival right up the street, that we did not have any hazardous materials that were involved,” Fort Mill Fire Chief Chipper Wilkerson said.
Officials told Channel 9 that the train started in Linwood, North Carolina and was headed to Columbia, South Carolina.
Nearby residents told Channel 9 they heard a loud commotion but didn’t know what was happening.
Chopper 9 Skyzoom took photos of the derailment and helped emergency crews by letting them see how bad the crash was.
Janie Brokehart said the crash sounded like thunder.
“It shook the whole house,” she said.
No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials spilled.
Frozen food, paper items and fertilizer were inside a few of the overturned cars, while others were empty.
All of those products will be transferred to trucks.
Officials said they are confident there are no public safety issues to worry about.
"We do have some environmental concerns with the diesel fluid,” said Chuck Hayes, of York County Management. “This certainly won’t be cleaned up tonight. This will be an ongoing issue."
Officials haven’t said how fast the train was going and what led to the derailment.
Norfolk Southern officials said the freight train had two locomotives and 85 cars.
(Watch video from Chopper 9)
There were no evacuations.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation.
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