A Union Pacific train full of packages derailed outside of a depot near an area where thousands of empty boxes had been left discarded by Los Angeles cargo thieves.
The derailment occurred on Saturday afternoon near the intersection of San Pablo Street and Valley Boulevard in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood.
'This afternoon approximately 17 cars on a Union Pacific train derailed just outside of our LATC yard, the same area where the vandalism has been occurring,' the company said in a statement after the derailment. 'The train crew was not hurt.'
It is unclear what caused the derailment, but many torn up packages left in the area by cargo thieves could be seen at the intersection, which remains closed.
Freight cars on Los Angeles railways are broken into on a daily basis by thieves who take advantage of the train's stops and loot packages. They leave behind the discarded boxes of Amazon and UPS packages, unused COVID tests and epi-pens they steal.
A Union Pacific train full of packages derailed outside of an LA depot amongst discarded Amazon and UPS parcels ransacked by thieves
A portion of the thousands of empty boxes left by cargo thieves are seen next to a derailed Union Pacific freight train left by cargo thieves in the Lincoln Heights section of Los Angeles
Dozens of freight cars are broken into every day on Los Angeles railways by thieves who take advantage of the train's stops to loot packages
The Los Angeles area has continued to see a rising trend in thieves looting from cargo containers carrying valuable items on Union Pacific tracks
The Los Angeles area has continued to see a rising trend in thieves looting from cargo containers carrying valuable items on Union Pacific tracks from companies including Amazon, REI and UPS that were bound for West Coast residences.
A series of discarded products such as unused COVID test vials and pharmaceutical drugs that were considered to be dispensable were also discarded.
Packages have also been seen spilling from open containers as thieves have been using materials such as bolt cutters to break the locks when the train is either stopped or slowly moving.
An increased security presence on the railway has since been enforced by Union Pacific to catch potential looters surveying the area.
