JULIA CREEK, Australia, Dec. 28 (UPI) — A 26-carriage freight train carrying about 44,000 gallons of sulphuric acid derailed in Australia on Sunday, injuring three train staff members.
The derailment occurred about 12 miles east of Julia Creek in the state of Queensland. An exclusion zone of more than a mile was set up around the crash site.
It is unclear how much acid has leaked, as it occurred in a remote environment. The area has also been affected by flooding, which limited access to the site.
“You have to take into account it’s remote, it’s impacted heavily by weather, access is quite difficult, and these are the challenges the responders are facing at the moment,” inspector Trevor Kidd told Australia’s ABC News. “It is some significant distance from major waterways and any major infrastructure, so we do have something going our way as far as that goes, but it is certainly challenging to make an effective assessment at this stage.”
An investigation into the cause of the accident has been launched. Three staff members received minor injuries and were released from a local hospital by late Sunday.
