LINCOLN, Ala., Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Dozens of families near Lincoln, Ala., began to return home Thursday after a train crash triggered an evacuation based on fears of leaking sodium cyanide.
Norfolk Southern Railroad spokeswoman Susan Terpay said both trains were eastbound for Atlanta. One train pulled onto a siding to allow the other to pass. However, it appears it didn't pull far enough along the siding, the Birmingham News reported.
Four train crewmembers received minor injuries in the crash, which was followed by an explosion that created a massive plume of smoke.
Talladega County Emergency Management officials ordered an evacuation for a 1-mile radius when they learned one of the cars in the second train contained toxic sodium cyanide.
The state's environmental agency detected no release of the chemical, but called in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to do real-time air monitoring.
