WISCONSIN — Crews removed two rail cars from the Mississippi River after a freight train derailed in southwestern Wisconsin, leaving four railway employees with minor injuries, officials said Friday.

The train derailed Thursday south of De Soto, Wis., (approximately 30 miles south of La Crosse) on a track that runs between the Mississippi River and Highway 35, according to Crawford County Sherriff’s Department. 

BNSF Railway said that "two of the three locomotives and an unknown number of cars carrying freight of all kinds were involved" in the derailment.

Two containers went into the Mississippi River, however neither contained hazardous materials. BNSF said that some of the containers that derailed on shore contained paint and lithium-ion batteries, but they did not fall into the water; the volumes of paint and lithium-ion batteries involved do not pose a risk to the river or the surrounding communities, according to BNSF. In a Facebook post Thursday night, Crawford County Emergency Management confirmed that HazMat teams had contained all hazardous material.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation said they were at the scene within minutes of the incident on Thursday and staff had tracked the rail cars that floated downstream. They said those cars had gone under the WIS 82/Lansing Causeway before floating onto the shore. 

The two cars were removed after boat crews secured them to the river bank, preventing them from traveling any farther south down the river, Crawford County Emergency Management Director James Hackett said. He said officials would provide more information later Friday.

“The immediate response was [to] get a hold of a hazmat, [and] figure out what [the derailed train] could be carrying," Hackett said. If the contents weren't known, Hackett said they'd have to prepare for that. He also said officials did not evacuate the area, but did restrict people from coming into the area.

Rock was being brought to the scene from nearby quarries to build a platform for providing officials with access to remove the train, said De Soto Fire Chief Chris Mussatti.

(Spectrum News 1/Phillip Boudreaux)

According to the WisDOT, the WIS 82 bridge that the cars floated under has been closed since Tuesday for high water. They said they'll inspect the structure for possible damage following the incident. For the time being, they said they diverted traffic from WIS 35 to WIS 171, WIS 27 and WIS 82.

“WisDOT is working diligently to ensure that traffic is diverted to safe roads and bridges while we thoroughly evaluate this event,” said WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson.

Crawford County Emergency Management said there is no estimate for how long Highway 35 will be closed but encouraged people to use the detour routes.

As a result of the incident, the main rail track was also blocked in both directions. At this time, there is also not an estimated time for the track reopening. Local first responders are on the scene and BNSF said it will work with local and state agencies to determine the cause of the derailment. 

The Federal Railroad Administration also tweeted that they're sending a team to gather information.

Crawford County Emergency Management in a Facebook post said the De Soto Fire Department is working with BNSF to work on the clean-up process and prepare for any unknowns.

In total, nearly 30 state, local and public agencies responded to the derailment, according to Hackett.

Gov. Tony Evers headed out to the incident site on Friday to survey the derailment.

“The locals have just done an outstanding job. This is way it is supposed to work when you have something like this. The locals are right here. They are trained. They are trained in all sorts of different ways, whether it’s county, whether it’s township..." Evers said.

The owner of the Tri State Concrete, a business located near the derailment, said deputies had confirmed to him Thursday that there were injuries. BNSF later confirmed that at least one crew member received medical care and said all of its members were accounted for as of 4:37 p.m. Thursday.

The business owner said deputies used boats to get to those in need of help.

Gunderson Tri-State Ambulance said crews transported a total of four patients to the hospital in relation to the incident. All four had non-life-threatening injuries. No additional patients are expected. 

Rep. Derrick Van Orden's office also put out a statement in reaction to the derailment, stating that his team would be traveling to the site to determine next steps.

State Senator Brad Pfaff said there should be a focus on finding a way to stop train derailments from happening in the future. 

“We need to make sure that we continue to recognize that rail safety is important and we also need to recognize the fact that there are communities —  and people that live in these communities — that are along these rail lines," Pfaff said. "So we need to make sure that we continue to have adequate inspection, oversight and coordination.”

The Crawford County Sherriff’s Department said this an “ongoing situation." Crawford County Emergency Management said they'll continue to monitor the situation and reevaluate safety plans until the incident concludes.

The derailment comes almost three months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Officials there decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion.

Hundreds of people had to evacuate in Raymond, Minnesota, last month after a BNSF train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire.

This story is developing. Check back later for updates.