NAPPANEE, Indiana (AP) – CSX says severe weather may have played a role in a freight train derailment in northern Indiana that injured two crew members.
The company says in a statement that while the derailment’s cause remains under investigation, “it appears that severe weather may have been a factor” in the derailment late Wednesday near Nappanee (NA’-puh-nee), about 25 miles southeast of South Bend.
The National Weather Service says a severe thunderstorm swept through that area about two hours before the derailment occurred just before midnight.
But meteorologist Geoffrey Heidelberger says radar also detected high winds aloft there about 11 p.m. Wednesday as a wave of storms toppled trees and power lines throughout the region.
CSX says about 30 loaded cars and two locomotives derailed on the Chicago-bound train
