Immediate evacuation issued for East Palestine and part of Darlington due to potential catastrophic explosion

The image above shows a section of the train on fire Friday night.
Story and photos by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published February 6, 2023 10:30 P.M.

(East Palestine, Ohio) Those within a one mile radius of the train derailment and fire in East Palestine, just across the Beaver County line, were told to evacuate immediately Sunday evening in response to the potential of a catastrophic explosion. The radius includes parts of Darlington. In a press briefing held Sunday, Governer Mike DeWine stated “Within the last two hours, a drastic temperature change has taken place in a rail car, and there is now the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure which could cause an explosion with the potential of deadly shrapnel traveling up to a mile”.


The tanker of concern is said to contain Vinyl Chloride. The train derailed and caught fire Friday evening. An inital evacuation was issued late Friday, but many chose to shelter in place.
Read the initial report below for previous additional details:

Massive Train Fire & Derailment Friday night in East Palestine near County line