DAKOTA.- Train cars carrying hazardous materials derailed and burst into flames on Friday in a remote area of North Dakotabut authorities said no one was injured and the threat to those living nearby appears to be minimal.
Twenty-nine cars of a CPKC train derailed around 3:45 a.m. in an area surrounded by farmland about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of Fargo, said Andrew Kirking, Foster County emergency management director.
The railcars were carrying anhydrous ammonia, sulfur and methanol, said Bill Suess, director of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality’s spill investigation program. Ammonia was the biggest risk, but winds blew smoke away from the nearby town of Bordulac, which has about 20 residents.
“The wind has been in our favor on this,” Suess said. “That risk has diminished considerably. It will continue to exist as long as the flames continue to burn.”
Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in the air can cause burning in the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract, and can lead to blindness, lung damage or death, health officials said. Exposure to lower amounts can cause coughing and irritation of the nose and throat.
Authorities are not planning to evacuate residents from nearby areas for now, but that depends on the direction of the wind, Suess said.
Kirking said the cause of the derailment was unknown. The engineer and driver escaped safely, he added.
According to Kirking, it appeared that between 10 and 15 of the cars caught fire. A video posted on the social media platform X showed flames burning intensely. As of midday Friday, they were still burning. A team of railway firefighters was on the scene.
CPKC said in a statement that it had “initiated its emergency response plan and launched a comprehensive and coordinated response.”
CPKC was the result of last year’s merger of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern.
Source: AP
