Freight Train Derails Due to Flooding Near South Dakota's Rapid City

Two railroad workers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were later rescued after a freight train derailed in New Underwood, east of Rapid City, South Dakota, on the morning of Friday, August 2, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said.

In a joint statement, the sheriff’s office and the Pennington County Fire Service said the derailment occurred when an “eastbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad train consisting of three locomotives and 60 loaded cars of clay, cement and scrap metal encountered a significant washout due to flash flooding at New Underwood.”

A sheriff’s deputy was first on the scene, shortly followed by the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department. Some of the carriages were submerged in water, and rescuers used an inflatable boat to rescue the train’s two crew members before bringing them to the hospital in Rapid City.

No other people were aboard the train and no one else was injured, officials said. Credit: Pennington County Sheriff’s Office via Storyful