A train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire in the northern United States on Thursday. Police said the accident forced the evacuation of residents in the area.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) vehicle derailed around 1:00 a.m. local time in the Raymond, Minnesota area.
Kandiyohi County Sheriff Eric Tollefson said in a statement that “Raymond fire departments and several area fire departments responded when several of the tankers began to catch fire, after being determined to be carrying some type of ethanol,” while others were carrying corn syrup. .
An evacuation order has been issued for people living within half a mile of the derailment area and travel to the town of Raymond is discouraged, the statement said.
There are no deaths or injuries, said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who said on Twitter that he was “monitoring” the situation.
The accident happened two months after the derailment of another train in East Palestine, Ohio, that forced hundreds of people to evacuate due to a massive fire.
The Ohio train was carrying, among other things, chloroethylene, a highly flammable chemical used in the manufacture of plastics.
The authorities carried out the “controlled” dumping of chloroethylene to prevent a possible explosion, a decision that was widely criticized. The release of toxic gases caused complaints of nausea and headaches among residents.
These accidents are a regular occurrence in the United States, where 1,164 trains derailed in 2022, an average of three per day, Rail Services said.
Source: DN
