HEIMDAL, N.D. (AP) - Residents of a small North Dakota community are seeing what’s left over from the derailment of an oil train carrying about 180,000 gallons of crude.
The train derailed and caught fire May 6, with the mainline running through the 22 person town of Heimdal. Residents were evacuated from their homes for about a day.
“You know I was born and raised here and I came back to this town because nobody knew where Heimdal, North Dakota was. Half of the people that live in North Dakota don’t know where Heimdal was and all of a sudden we’re all known at least nationwide,” said Heimdal resident Curt Benson.
After the incident, Benson said there were far more people working on accident cleanup than people living in the town. But KXMB-TV (https://bit.ly/1ekl9QY ) reports the town has quieted down, with the mass of emergency crews and reporters gone. Construction workers and remains from the accident are what’s left.
“You can hear the birds singing, you know. It’s almost like… It’s almost like things are already back to normal,” says Benson.
The TV station says the National Transportation Safety Board is continuing to investigate the accident. Investigators say it can take 12-18 months to determine what caused a derailment.
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Information from: KXMC-TV, https://www.kxnet.com
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