An estimated 43,700-plus aquatic animals in East Palestine , Ohio, died following the train derailment there earlier this month.

Mary Mertz, the director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said in a virtual press conference that consulting group EnviroScience surveyed four different sites to calculate Thursdays new figure which marked a disturbing climb from last weeks count of 3,500 dead aquatic animals.

She added that the Environmental Protection Agency had warned her staff that it was too dangerous to enter the water without specialized gear after the derailment on Feb. 3.

EnviroScience was fitted with the proper equipment, however, and collected samples on Feb. 6 and 7.

The group collected 2,938 dead aquatic animals during that time and scaled upwards to arrive at a total estimated death count of more than 43,700 across the area impacted by the chemical spill from the train and the controlled burn of its toxic vinyl chloride cargo .

The nearly 2-mile Norfolk Southern train derailed mere moments after its crew received a warning about an overheated axle . The incident forced countless local residents, many of whom have since experienced concerning health symptoms, to evacuate .

Mertz said that 38,222 small fish and 5,500 other aquatic animals are estimated to have died as a result of the derailment, which affected numerous local waterways.