Nov. 4 (UPI) — An explosion on train tracks late Saturday morning in Chicago killed one worker and critically injured another, officials said.
The man was pronounced dead at 12:11 p.m. at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office in a Chicago Tribune report.
The explosion occurred at about 11:45 a.m., said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Juan Hernandez.
The Metra employees were welding with torches to work on repairs on the northwest side of Chicago, according to Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile.
“I have no idea what caused it. They were doing spot welds,” Reile said. “It’s not an unusual activity.”
Individuals were working on a project from last week, Reile said.
“We usually work on the Metra lines on the weekend because there is lower traffic,” she said.
As of 12:30 p.m., the tracks were elevated and the scene was “secured,” Hernandez said. “The public is not in danger.”
One inbound train was scheduled to be more than 35 minutes late after being halted.
“It sounded like something had hit the house,” Ralph Applegate, 76, who stood with his wife, Helen Applegate, 71, on the porch of their nearby home, said to the Chicago Tribune. “It was just a huge boom. The house shook.”
Metra is the commuter rail agency serving six counties in the Chicago area, operating 241 stations on 11 different rail lines, according to its website.
