A train conductor in Nebraska recorded a harrowing video from the middle of a tornado hit.
The footage captures the middle of a tornado outbreak just last week. The 27-year conductor says they’ve never seen anything like it, according to the video’s description.
The three-minute video starts with the tornado in the distance. The conductor, who recorded the video, and the engineer chat calmly, not hearing any sirens go off. They were sitting stationary while waiting for the signal to continue. Slowly, the tornado ekes closer, looming larger and larger. Meanwhile, cars can still be seen driving along the nearby road.
Eventually, the howling winds are heard in the footage, and the tornado begins picking up debris.
“That just took that building out,” one voice is heard saying.
Soon, more of the building debris gets swept up into the twister, and as it gets closer to the train, the size becomes more apparent. One of the people in the video advises them to move away from the windows, and the video shows them taking cover as best as they can. The conductor recording kneels below the large train windows, and their hand is seen holding onto a railing as the train rolls directly overheard.
“Right over us,” one person is heard saying. “Hold on. Hold on!”
Viewers can hear as the winds and debris bombard the train car, though the camera loses sight of the tornado as the conductor takes cover.
Once things calmed down, they assessed the damage. Windows are cracked and shattered, covered in a layer of dirt. The conductor looks outside, revealing felled trees, which were upright at the start of the video but are now completely horizontal.
While the train might have been waiting for the signal to keep going, the two realize they aren’t going anywhere now. The tornado derailed 31 train cars, according to the video description. Thankfully, both the conductor and engineer were unharmed. However, the multi-day tornado outbreak has taken at least five lives so far, CNN reports. The tornado outbreak comprised “dozens” of tornadoes, which hit multiple states.
Image credits: NOAA
