Runaway train carriages derail near Los Angeles

A row of train carriages broke loose in a switching yard and rolled more than 30 miles before workers derailed them to avoid a potential disaster in Los Angeles. Tons of lumber tumbled on to trackside homes.

Rail workers diverted the 31 cars on to a side track at noon after they had raced nearly 30 miles at speeds sometimes topping 70mph. At least 11 derailed, unleashing a blizzard of wood, newsprint and fibreboard that destroyed two homes and damaged two others in Commerce, California.

“That was the last chance we felt we had to derail them before they went into downtown Los Angeles,” Union Pacific Railroad spokesman John Bromley said.

Three children and three adults were treated at hospitals for minor injuries, and seven others were treated at the scene, authorities said.

The carriages were derailed in a largely industrial community about 30 minutes after they got loose at a switching yard in Montclair and began rolling downhill.

“We saw the train demolishing and splintering the house. You saw the power lines going down, the sparks. I was in shock,” said Jason Mendez, 34. “It sounded like a plane crash combined with an earthquake.”

Many residents of the neighbourhood – filled with single-family houses with small yards and front porches – were at work at the time.

“It’s very amazing,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman. “What if this happened in the middle of the night with everybody sleeping?”

Bromley said he had no information on how the switching mishap occurred. Workers were subject to drug and alcohol testing, but he said he did not know if that had been done.