14 DAY TRIAL // On Monday, Louisiana's Jefferson Parish was hit by a severe thunderstorm. The freak weather event birthed winds strong enough to blow several train cars off a local bridge, media reports say.
The moment the train cars fell to the ground after having been knocked over by the swirling winds was caught on film and the footage made it online shortly after. You can find the video below.
Nobody could believe what was happening
It is understood that the incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. local time. At that time, the Union Pacific train shown in the video was crossing the Huey P. Long Bridge.
As the train was moving across this bridge in Louisiana's Jefferson Parish, strong winds pushed a few of its cars off the tracks. Local authorities say that a total of 11 rail cars fell to the ground.
“Due to the severe weather this morning four Union Pacific Railroad rail cars derailed and dropped off the east bank approach to the Huey P. Long Bridge,” reads a statement issued by the New Orleans Public Belt.
Following the thunderstorm, Jefferson Parish Council Chairman Chris Roberts shared photos showing the rail cars resting on the ground on Facebook. See these pictures in the accompanying gallery.
The falling train cars didn't injure anybody
The good news is that, what with it being a thunderstorm and all, most people were hiding indoors when the cars fell off the Huey P. Long Bridge. Hence, nobody was injured in this accident.
Besides, local authorities reassure that the cars did not contain any hazardous compounds. Instead, KTLA tells us that the containers were empty when they got blown off by the strong winds.
“The rail cars were empty and did not contain any hazardous materials. No leaks and no injuries are reported at this time. Jefferson Parish Police, Fire and other responders are on scene to secure the area,” officials with the New Orleans Public Belt promise.
