Late Tuesday evening, December 2, a Union Pacific train derailed into the Gunnison River in far Western Colorado. The train was traveling in a remote part of the state, between the towns of Whitewater and Bridgeport, when the incident occurred. Speeding along in the darkness, the train came up on a rockslide. A particularly large boulder forced the train off the tracks, sending it crashing into the dark Gunnison River below.
The train consisted of two locomotives and five rail cars loaded with coal and was staffed by two engineers. The engineers were initially trapped in the crash, prompting an immediate rescue operation. Due to the remote nature of the crash, rescue efforts were hampered by access issues. Search and rescue operations were conducted using a drone to find the location of the crash and a specialized vehicle to access the area. When Grand Junction Fire Department and Mesa County Sheriff’s Officers arrived on the scene, they found the engineers pinned in the train engine in about two feet of frigid rushing water.
The engineers were finally rescued around 1:30 a.m. without any injuries. Both engineers were evaluated for hypothermia and ultimately were released without further treatment.
Unfortunately, an estimated 8,120 gallons of diesel spilled from a leak in the locomotive into the Gunnison River. Hazmat units were deployed the following day, and containment booms were used to prevent the fuel from traveling further downstream and affecting the larger Colorado River watershed. Remediation of spilled coal and fuel is currently underway. As of Friday, December 5, 4,460 gallons of fuel had been captured, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) will keep monitoring the water quality for the coming weeks and months. CPW advises duck hunters to avoid areas downstream of the accident for the time being.
While all parties involved were lucky the outcome wasn’t worse, the accident highlights the need for increased safety measures in remote areas of track across the U.S. In the United States, trains derail roughly three times a day, with an average of about 1,300 to 1,259 derailments per year in recent years. While the majority of derailments end up without serious consequences, when a train derails at the wrong time and place, consequences can be severe. Luckily for the engineers, Colorado emergency services are no strangers to rescues in extreme conditions.
