Train Carrying Hazardous Materials Derails, Catches Fire in North Dakota
(NEWSnet/AP) — Rail cars carrying hazardous material derailed and burst into flames Friday in a remote area of North Dakota, officials said.
No injuries were reported and the threat to those living nearby appeared to be minimal, authorities said.
Twenty-nine cars of a CPKC train derailed around 3:45 a.m. in an area surrounded by farmland that’s about 140 miles northwest of Fargo, said a Foster County emergency management director.
The cars were carrying anhydrous ammonia, sulfur and methanol, said Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality.
The ammonia was the biggest risk, but wind carried the smoke away from the nearby town of Bordulac, which has about 20 residents.
Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in the air can cause burning of the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract, and can result in blindness, lung damage or death, health officials say. Exposure to lower amounts can result in coughing and irritation of the nose and throat.
Officials do not anticipate evacuating nearby residents, but that could change if the winds shift, Suess said.
The cause of the derailment wasn’t known.
The engineer and conductor got away safely, officials said.
Kirking said the cause of the derailment wasn’t known. The engineer and conductor got away safely, he said.
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