Some 10 railcars were engulfed in flames after two BNSF Railway Co.
trains derailed on Monday about 25 miles west of Fargo, N.D., a local
official said. At least one of the trains was carrying oil, the railroad
said.
Fire and hazardous materials team are battling the fire,
which is about a mile west of Casselton, N.D., said Sgt. Tara Morris of
the Cass County Sherrif's office. She added that all people and animals
within a 10-mile radius of the town should find shelter and avoid going
outside until the area is deemed safe.
No injuries have been reported, local officials said.
The Fort Worth, Tex.-based railroad said one train derailed
on a track around 2:10 p.m. Central Time and "impacted" a second train
on another track, causing it to derail.
A spokesman for BNSF confirmed its trains were involved and
at least one of the trains was carrying oil. He said railroad employees
were on their way to the accident.
BNSF, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., told its customers
it couldn' t estimate when the main tracks would reopen, but warned
customers they might experience delays of 24 to 48 hours on shipments
through the corridor.
This is the latest in a series of derailments of crude-oil
trains this year. In July, 47 people were killed in a crude-oil train
derailment that wiped out much of the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic. In
November, a train carrying crude oil derailed in a rural area of
Alabama.