A BNSF engine pulls prepare automobiles on the Metra/BNSF railroad yard exterior of downtown in September 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. A BNSF prepare carrying ethanol derailed in Minnesota and caught fireplace, forcing evacuations.

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A BNSF engine pulls prepare automobiles on the Metra/BNSF railroad yard exterior of downtown in September 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. A BNSF prepare carrying ethanol derailed in Minnesota and caught fireplace, forcing evacuations.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

A prepare carrying ethanol derailed and caught fireplace in western Minnesota Thursday morning, prompting an evacuation for residents close to the crash web site within the metropolis of Raymond, Minn.

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the derailment at about 1:00 a.m. native time, in keeping with a statement. The BNSF-operated prepare derailed on the western fringe of town however was nonetheless inside Raymond, Minn., metropolis limits.

About 22 automobiles carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed, and 4 are on fireplace, BNSF advised NPR in a press release. The explanation for the derailment is underneath investigation.

“There are no other hazardous materials on the train and no injuries as a result of the incident,” the railroad mentioned.

Authorities established a half-mile evacuation space across the crash web site, and regulation enforcement officers and different emergency responders assisted, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. Residents with nowhere else to go went to an emergency assortment web site in close by Prinsburg, Minn.

Raymond has a inhabitants of about 900 folks and is about 100 miles west of Minneapolis.

The “site remains active as the fire is being contained,” the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. BNSF personnel are on web site and dealing with first responders.

The principal observe is blocked, and it is unclear when it will likely be reopened, BNSF mentioned.

Mayor and assistant fireplace chief Ardell Tensen told member station Minnesota Public Radio that the derailment was so loud that some firefighters heard the automobiles crashing collectively alongside the tracks. Firefighters had been letting a few of the ethanol burn out, however a lot of the hearth had been extinguished as of 6 a.m. native time.

“We didn’t know if they were going to blow up,” Tensen advised MPR News, which is why town determined to evacuate residents close by.

Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Federal Railroad Administration is on the bottom in Raymond and shall be concerned within the investigation.

Another BNSF train carrying corn syrup derailed earlier this month in Arizona. Both derailments come on the heels of two high-profile Norfolk Southern derailments — one carrying poisonous chemical compounds that derailed close to East Palestine, Ohio, and one other in Ohio with no poisonous chemical compounds on board.