A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in downtown Douglasville early Tuesday morning, closing roads and dumping truck trailers, ajc.com reported.
No one was injured in the derailment, which was reported about 1 a.m., according to reports.
“I heard two real loud clacks. I turned around to look and heard two loud clacks again,” WSB-TV quoted one eyewitness as saying. “We turned around and the train was dead stopped, just that quick.”
Norfolk Southern Railway, which operates the rail line, worked to bring in workers and equipment from across the region to help in the clean up. According to published reports, trains faced detours upwards of 150 miles because of the derailment.
Published accounts indicated city officials were relieved there were no injuries despite the fact the rail line passes through a high traffic area.
“There could have been people hurt, buildings damaged or destroyed, fires,” the Douglasville Sentinel newspaper quoted Douglasville Mayor Mickey Thompson as saying in a report posted to its website.