BELLMONT, Ill. — Two crew members were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries in the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that also led to a hazardous-materials incident on Friday (July 18, 2025).
Newsweek reports 24 railcars derailed in the incident near the town of Bellmont about 6 p.m., with liquid sulfur leaking from two of the cars. The mayor of nearby Mount Carmel, Ill., said in a Facebook post that that as of 5 a.m. Saturday, the spill had been contained and Norfolk Southern contractors had begun to address cleanup. First responders from five fire agencies and the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department were on hand, Mayor Joe Judge reported, along with the Department of Homeland Security, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
“Once we had a confirmation of the derailment and what was possibly on the train itself, they fully responded efficiently,” Judge said, according to WEHT-TV. “They had firefighters throughout the whole state of Illinois here.”
On Sunday (July 20), Judge said in an update that Norfolk Southern had released all first responders from the scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced it is investigating the incident; Judge said on Facebook that State Route 15, which had been closed since the incident, was reopened this evening following clearance by the NTSB.
The derailment site is near the Illinois-Indiana state line on the Southern-West District of NS’ Illinois Subdivision.
— Updated July 20 at 12:35 p.m. CT with additional information.
Note that a no-fly zone has been enacted by the FAA in the area until clean up is complete.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
NS has a passing siding about a 1.5 miles long between Bellmont and Browns on this line and it appears one of the cars got fouled in the switch and took a few cars to the ground and the tankers tipped over.
Hard to believe, but I have been to both Bellmont and Browns.
I remember trying to spot a IHRC consist on the former IC that crossed the NS at Browns.