BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Train derailment kills child, spills sulfuric acid near highway

Central, South American migrants injured after train leaves tracks south of Juarez; soldiers, firefighters try to contain hazardous spill

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A 4-year-old child is dead, a woman has lost her foot, and firefighters were trying to contain a spill of sulfuric acid after a train carrying stowaway migrants left the tracks Tuesday night just south of Juarez, Mexico.

Twelve boxcars and tank cars lay on their sides near the tracks, surrounded by dozens of firefighters and Mexican National Guard troops keeping people away from the spill, authorities in the border state of Chihuahua said.

“We are maintaining safety measures due to the hazardous spill near the Juarez-Ahumada highway,” said Luis Corral Torresday, head of the Chihuahua Civil Protection Office. “In the early hours, a search was conducted for a missing child – as the accident involved (migrants), one from Nicaragua and four from Venezuela. First responders are reporting the child was found (Wednesday morning) with no signs of life.”

A 28-year-old woman’s foot was severed during the derailment and a 17-year-old male suffered serious head injuries. Both were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Juarez, the Civil Protection Office said.

The cause of the derailment is under investigation and the spill appears to involve a single tank car, authorities on the scene told Border Report news partner ProVideo.

Sulfuric acid is a corrosive fluid used in petroleum refining, metal processing and to make fertilizers. It can catch fire if it comes into contact with other chemicals and can emit toxic fumes if heated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Migrants used to travel atop trains from southern Mexico to border communities like Juarez by the hundreds before the Mexican government cracked down on the practice last May.

A few migrants still manage to get on trains undetected to arrive at a border where asylum-seekers without an appointment at a U.S. port of entry are sent back or expeditiously removed because of a June 4 Biden administration executive order.

Immigration

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

66°F Sunny Feels like 66°
Wind
4 mph SSW
Humidity
33%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Partly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
4 mph S
Precip
16%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waxing Gibbous