A fire yesterday left a rail bridge in the north east of the USA with charring and a buckled track. No one was hurt in the incident and no trains were involved.
Rail travel between Maryland and West Virginia is still disrupted following a bridge deck blaze that took firefighters two hours to get under control.
The bridge at Harpers Ferry crosses the Potomac River between Sandy Hook, Maryland and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Emergency services from Washington County attended the large fire at 3.47pm local time. Crews from neighbouring counties also attended.
A pair of boats was drafted in as a safety precaution for firefighters working at height on the bridge, which is 30m above the water. Neighbouring counties also supplied water tankers because of limited access to a reliable supply at this complex site.
The fire was declared under control at 5.30pm local time but firefighters remained on site extinguishing hot spots and awaiting the arrival of the line operator CSX.
Disruption to rail services in the region continues today.
