Fiery derailment of train hauling ethanol prompts evacuations in Minnesota
A train carrying ethanol and corn syrup caught fire after derailing in Minnesota early Thursday, forcing nearby residents to evacuate their homes as a precaution.
In a statement, BNSF Railway said approximately 22 cars derailed.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN the release of ethanol led to a fire.
According to BNSF, four of the derailed cars caught on fire.
“We’ve been in touch with the governor,” Buttigieg said, adding that Environmental Protection Agency officials were headed to the site of the derailment “given the hazardous material situation.”
Ethanol is a highly flammable chemical, and exposure to it can lead to coughing, dizziness, a burning sensation in the eyes, drowsiness and unconsciousness.
Buttigieg said he has received no reports of deaths or injuries as a result of the derailment.
The BNSF train derailed in Raymond, a town of approximately 800 residents located about 100 miles west of Minneapolis, about 1 a.m., Kandiyohi County Sheriff Eric Tollefson said in a statement. BNSF has not provided an estimated time for reopening the rail line.
The train had “numerous rail cars derail” and several caught fire, according to Tollefson. The cause of the derailment has not yet been determined.
Homes within a half-mile of the derailment have been evacuated, Tollefson said. Residents have been taken to a shelter in the nearby city of Prinsburg and travel is not advised in Raymond, the sheriff’s office said.
Fire officials said they are letting the ethanol burn out after working to extinguish the cars.
Railroad safety has been in the spotlight nationally ever since last month’s fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern train near East Palestine, Ohio.
Roughly half of the small town of about 5,000 people near the Pennsylvania border had to be evacuated after officials decided to release and burn toxic chemicals.
Response to the derailment has been widely criticized, prompting Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to sue Norfolk Southern over the “entirely avoidable” toxic derailment.
“The derailment was entirely avoidable and the direct result of Norfolk Southern’s practice of putting its own profits above the health, safety and welfare of the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates,” the federal suit filed earlier this month alleges.
Federal regulators and members of Congress have proposed reforms they want railroads to make to prevent future derailments.
With Post wires
