Nine people injured after rail car exploded in Atchison

Nine people were injured, two critically, Thursday after an explosion at GBW Rail Services west of Atchison, authorities said.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie said the explosion occurred at 2 p.m. at 15624 258th Road, near US-59 highway and 258th Road.

No deaths have been reported. The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office is conducting the investigation.

A rail car containing fuel — possibly gasoline — exploded inside a building. There were 16 to 17 employees inside the building at the time of the explosion, Laurie said in a news release.

“All employees have been accounted for with six being transported to area hospitals,” Laurie said.

The injured people were being treated for smoke inhalation, burns and a back injury, the sheriff said.

“All other employees were screened by EMS and released,” Laurie said.

He said six people had been taken to hospitals, but Fox4KC television later reported the rail company raised the number to seven. Ropse Rozmiarek, an official with the Kansas Fire Marshal’s Office, later said nine people had been injured, and two were taken to The University of Kansas Hospital. The other seven could be treated in Atchison.

Fox4KC reported The University of Kansas Hospital confirmed it received two patients from the blast in its burn unit, both men who were in critical condition.

Jack Isselman, senior vice president for external affairs and programs at GBW, said the explosion occurred in an area where rail car surfaces are prepared for painting. He said all uninjured employees had been accounted for and sent home, and the company is sending several senior managers to “further assess the situation.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with these employees and their families, and we wish them quick recoveries,” he said.

Isselman said 54 people work at the facility near Atchison.

The rail shop is located near Cargill. Mark Klein, spokesman for Cargill, said initial reports said no Cargill employees were involved, but he didn’t have further information about the accident.

“It’s not ours, and our employees are safe,” he said.

GBW, which is based in Lake Oswego, Ore., manufactures freight cars and barges for use in North America and Europe. According to a map on GBW’s website, the Atchison facility did repair work. GBW also has repair shops in Topeka and Osawatomie and a wheel-making facility in Kansas City, Kan.

Atchison is a small city nestled along the Missouri River in northeast Kansas.

On Oct. 29, 2011, an explosion at Bartlett Grain in Atchison left six people dead and two others with serious injuries.

Bartlett employees who were killed were John Burke, 24, Ryan Federinko, 21, Curtis Field, 21, and Chad Roberts, 20, as well as grain inspectors Travis Keil, 34, and Darrek Klahr, 43.

Bartlett employees Pat Maxwell and Clinton Ellerman were hospitalized after the explosion.