Kentucky tornado causes train derailment, reports say
Crews responding to the incident said one train car ended up 75 yards from the track, a report said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A tornado caused the derailment of a CSX freight train on Friday night in Kentucky, resulting in damage to multiple houses, according to reports.
The derailment occurred in Earlington, Hopkins County. There were no reports of injuries, the Courier Journal of Louisville reported.
A total of 28 train cars left the tracks because of severe weather, a CSX spokesperson told Fox News. No harmful substances were released, the spokesman added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The safety of the community is our top priority as we continue to finalize our recovery plan," the statement continued. "CSX personnel are coordinating with local emergency responders and by late afternoon we cleared the derailed cars from the tracks. At approximately 6 p.m. this evening train traffic resumed."
Crews responding to the incident said one train car ended up 75 yards from the track, the Courier Journal report said.
Two rail cars separated from the rest of the train and multiple houses were damaged, WFIE-TV of Evansville, Indiana, reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A resident of The Cardinal Inn in Bowling Green, Kentucky, looks at tornado damage, Dec. 11, 2021. (Getty Images)
Removal of debris in the area will be time-consuming, officials said.
"We have multiple houses damaged in this particular area, we have a train derailment that appears to be a result of the tornado," Earlington Fire Department Chief Chris Cothran said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the National Weather Service, a tornado emergency was issued for the area at 10:43 p.m. Friday.
One person told WFIE his family took cover when the tornado struck.
Debris is wrapped around damaged trees as emergency workers search through what is left of the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory after it was destroyed by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, on Dec. 11, 2021. (Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Me and my wife were in the hallway, underneath a mattress," Johnson said. "My mom and dad and niece and nephew and her boyfriend were under the kitchen table."
Earlier, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that deaths from the Friday tornado outbreak could exceed 100.
Rubble from a tornado-damaged collapsed building piles into the street on Dec. 11, 2021 in Mayfield, Kentucky. (Getty Images)
"Everywhere along this line of this tornado where it touched down ... has been severely and significantly impacted," Beshear said.
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"It is indescribable," he said. "The level of devastation is unlike anything I have ever seen."
Fox News' Dom Calicchio and Peter Aitken contributed to this report.