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DACF News Release


*For Imediate Release*
April 15, 2023

*Maine Forest Service Responds to Freight Train Derailment Near Rockwood, Maine*

Augusta, Maine ? At approximately 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, April 15, 2023, a Canadian Pacific freight train derailed in Sandwich Academy Grant Township in Somerset County.?

The Maine Forest Service, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and local emergency first responders responded.?

A total of three locomotive engines and six rail cars carrying lumber and electrical wiring derailed into a wooded area, where they caught fire and started a small forest fire. The fires are contained and are being monitored.??

Additional rail cars transporting hazardous materials did not derail. The assessment of officials on the scene is that these hazardous materials are not at risk of leaking and are not at risk of catching fire.?

It is also the assessment of officials on the scene that there is no threat to public health or safety, though officials continue to ask that the public avoid the area.?

Three railroad employees were sent to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.?

An early assessment indicates that the derailment may have been caused by a build-up of melting ice and debris that washed out part of the railroad track.??

The Maine Forest Service, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and local emergency first responders remain on the scene, and a unified command has been established in Jackman. A Canadian Pacific operations team is also onsite and will provide more details on the status of all rail cars.??

*Media contact*: Jim Britt, (207) 480-0558?

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