Thursday has brought several new developments in the ongoing fallout from the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, including the first visit from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the release of the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the cause of the crash, and a community meeting being held tonight with legal and medical experts.
Watch News 5 Anchor DaLaun Dillard provide updates from East Palestine on Thursday:
Preliminary NTSB report released
The NTSB report was released at 10 a.m., and showed that the train crew tried to stop the train in East Palestine when they received an alert about one of the car's wheel bearings overheating to a critical temperature of over 250 degrees above the ambient temperature.
READ MORE: NTSB: Crew tried to stop derailing train after receiving overheating alert near East Palestine
The NTSB will also hold a news conference from Washington DC at 1 p.m. Thursday. Watch that news conference live below:
The report comes after an initial update on the investigation last week reporting the agency received surveillance video from a resident showing “what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment.”
ODNR updates number of animals killed by derailment
At 11 a.m., the Ohio Department of Natural Resources held a virtual news conference to provide an update on the derailment's impact on wildlife in the area. Watch the news conference in full below:
ODNR officials said that after working with a third party to gather data, new calculations indicate about 38,000 minnows were killed during the derailment and initial release of chemicals, as well as potentially 5,500 aquatic creatures of different species.
The wildlife impact area is still estimated to be 7.5 miles around the crash, and species have been found dead in a 5-mile span around the site, ODNR officials said.
To date, no terrestrial animal deaths have been recorded due to the derailment, but ODNR officials are continuing to monitor the area.
RELATED: ODNR update on East Palestine: More than 43,000 fish have died since train derailment
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visits, speaks to media
Transportation Pete Buttigieg is visiting East Palestine Thursday for the first time since the derailment, “as part of this Administration’s commitment to the safety and well-being of this community for the long haul,” according to a news release from the Department of Transportation.
He started the day at the derailment site, meeting with the team from the USDOT that was on the ground hours after the derailment.
Watch a replay of the live stream of his tour below:
Buttigieg then delivered remarks to the press near the site of the derailment at about 11 a.m. Watch the news conference below:
Later, he will receive an update on the NTSB investigation and meet with emergency responders and community members in East Palestine.
Buttigieg has been a target of ire from conservatives, who criticized him and President Biden for not showing up to East Palestine sooner.
"This was an area of the state of Ohio that voted massively for President Trump, not a community that they necessarily care about," Riley Moore, Republican congressional candidate for West Virginia, said on "Fox and Friends."
In a news release, the USDOT defended Buttigieg’s decision not to visit East Palestine until today, citing a Politico article showing that historically, it is “exceedingly rare” for a transportation secretary to visit the site of a train derailment, and stating that the timing is right for his visit now that the emergency response phase is over and the NTSB is prepared to announce findings from its investigation.
RELATED: East Palestine derailment has now become the subject of political battle
Community meeting with legal, medical experts
Later Thursday night, there will be a community meeting in which residents can hear from independent health and legal experts. The panel discussion and Q&A will begin at 6 p.m.
That meeting comes a day after residents got to share their concerns directly with the CEO of Norfolk Southern during a town hall hosted by CNN.
"I'm 65 years old, a diabetic, heart disease, everything,” said East Palestine resident Jim Stewart to CEO Alan Shaw during the town hall. “Now, did you shorten my life now? I want to retire and enjoy it. How are we gonna enjoy it? You burned me. We were gonna sell our house. Our value went poof."
"I hear you. I'm terribly sorry that this has happened to this community,” Shaw responded. “What I can do and what I will do is make it right. We're gonna get the clean up right. We're gonna reimburse the citizens. We're gonna invest in the long-term health of this community.”
The company also announced on Wednesday night major plans to replace the tracks and excavate the soil in the derailment area, plans they changed in response to feedback from citizens. The company said it will begin work on the first rail line immediately and then move to the second rail line directly after.
We will now excavate the soil and replace the tracks in response to feedback from the citizens of East Palestine. Work on the first rail line will begin immediately, with the second line to be replaced directly after. https://t.co/cjL6P2OXzD pic.twitter.com/ikjAdm8ON5
— Norfolk Southern (@nscorp) February 23, 2023
On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine, touring Little Beaver Creek and visiting the East Palestine Fire Department, where he donated water and cleaning supplies.
RELATED: Former President Donald Trump visits train derailment site in East Palestine
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