Railroad cites broken bolt as cause of fiery Oregon derailment

At least one broken bolt holding the rail in place caused the fiery derailment of a Union Pacific train moving volatile crude oil through the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon-Washington border, railroad officials say.

Union Pacific spokesman Justin Jacobs said Saturday that the company has filed a report with the Federal Railroad Administration citing one or more broken bolts as the cause of the June 3 derailment.

Mosier Fire Chief Jim Appleton, who fought the blaze after the derailment, said he appreciated Union Pacific’s maintenance and safety procedures but the risk of one broken bolt resulting in such a disaster or potentially worse disasters means regulators should not allow shipments of crude oil to travel by train through the area.

Officials have said 42,000 gallons of crude oil were released in the derailment of the unit crude oil train, called such because it hauled only one type of commodity.