LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews are making railroad repair in Los Angeles after a train derailed near the location where thieves have been raiding cargo containers, leaving the tracks littered with emptied boxes of packaged goods sent by retailers.
It isn't known if Saturday’s derailment was caused by the debris left behind by thieves in the Lincoln Heights area near downtown Los Angeles.
Union Pacific says the cause of the derailment is under investigation. The company says 17 train cars came off the tracks, but no injuries were reported.
Cargo containers aboard trains have been targeted by thieves for months. The stolen packages are from retailers including Amazon, REI and others.
Widely tweeted footage by a journalist last week showed the extent of the security breaches, with hundreds of opened packages looted from rail-borne shipping containers strewn around the tracks.
Los Angeles has been the site of major shipping woes in recent months as the global supply chain crisis hit the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
