Residents of a small Minnesota town were ordered to clear the area after a train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire on Thursday, authorities said, though no injuries were reported.
Numerous rail cars from a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed around 1:00 am (0600 GMT) in the town of Raymond, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) west of Minneapolis, Kandiyohi County Sheriff Eric Tollefson said in a statement.
Eric added in a statement, fire departments from Raymond and multiple area departments responded as several of the derailed tankers started on fire and were determined to be carrying a form of ethanol, while others were filled with a corn syrup liquid.
Residents, who were, within a half-mile of the accident site in the northern US state “were ordered to leave their homes” and urged not to travel to Raymond, the statement added.
According to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, No injuries were immediately reported.
We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigation, Buttigieg tweeted Thursday morning, adding that officials from the Federal Railroad Administration were on site.
The collision comes amid increased scrutiny of rail freight carriers after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio last month. State authorities stated the derailment spilled more than one million gallons of toxic chemicals, including known carcinogen vinyl chloride, into the air, soil, and waterways.
More than 2,000 people were moved from their homes in that collision, which is still under investigation, with many locals complaining of diseases such as nausea, headaches, and rashes after being exposed to the fumes.
Train derailments are quite common in the United States, with more than 1,164 such accidents in 2022, or an average of more than three per day, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
