Train carrying ethanol derails, forcing evacuations in Minnesota

A train carrying ethanol derailed in a southwest Minnesota town on Thursday, causing a number of cars to burst into flames and prompting evacuations of residents in the area, authorities said.

The BNSF Railway train derailment was reported to police in Kandiyohi County at around 1 a.m. local time on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The train derailed just inside the city of Raymond, with authorities determining that some of the cars were carrying ethanol and corn syrup.

Police establish an evacuation zone of a half mile, asking people to leave their homes and providing shelter in a nearby town. Police said there were no injuries as a result of the crash or the emergency response and that BNSF personnel were on the ground to help with the scene. No travel was advised to the city, police said.

While police said “numerous” train cars derailed, BNSF said in a statement that it was about 22 cars that derailed. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN that about 14 of those cars were carrying hazardous materials. Buttigieg said on Twitter that the Federal Railroad Administration was on the ground in the town.

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BNSF said four of the cars caught on fire after derailing at about 1:02 a.m. on Thursday. The company also said there were no other hazardous materials on the train.

The fiery derailment in Minnesota follows a number of high-profile train mishaps in the U.S., highlighted by the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this year that sparked a public health and environmental emergency. Federal officials have come under sharp scrutiny for the string of crashes.

Lawmakers have started to punt around ideas for rail safety reforms in response to the events, but a compromise on a package still proves elusive.