Welder Killed and Two Railroad Workers Injured in Washington, DC Metro Rail Blast

October 8th, 2013 |

WASHINGTON, DC – A welder, who was an employee of a company contracted by the WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority), was killed in a blast on October 6, while welding new rail sections in one of the tunnels near Union Station in D.C.

A worker was killed in an explosion while welding some new rail sections in a Metro Rail tunnel near Union Station in Washington, DC on October 6, 2013.

The accident occurred just after midnight Sunday morning, Oct. 6, about 400 feet from the Union Station platform inside a tunnel where crews were welding sections of rail together.

Map shows location of the Metro Rail Union Station in Washington DC where a worker was killed nearby in an explosion while welding new rail sections on October 6, 2013.

According to the Metro Rail, some hydraulic fluid may have ignited by the welding operation which caused a fire and then an explosion. The blast pushed a 40 foot section of rail into 3 employees, killing one and injuring two.

The worker who was killed was identified as 41 year-old Harold Ingram, from Richmond, VA. Ingram was not a railroad employee, but was working for the Holland Company, a contractor for the WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority).

The two who were injured were railroad company workers. Their names have not been released but their injuries were reported to be serious.

The incident is currently under investigation.

Blog post by Gordon, Elias & Seely, a nationwide FELA lawyer and railroad injury lawyer who publishes train accidents and FELA legal news from across the United States.