NEWS
Ethanol-Carrying BNSF Train Derails in Raymond, MN Prompting Evacuation Notices Per Reports
Residents were evacuated early Thursday after a train carrying “a form of ethanol” derailed in Raymond, Minn., officials said.
The Kandiyohi County Sheriffs Office said a BNSF Railway train derailed at around 1 a.m. Thursday and caught fire.
Fire departments from Raymond and numerous area departments responded as several of the derailed tankers started on fire and were determined to be carrying a form of ethanol and others with a corn syrup liquid, the sheriffs office said in a statement.
A photo shared by Matt Houchin shows a blazing fire at the site of the derailment, with a thick column of smoke rising.
An evacuation order was issued for a half-mile around the crash site, the sheriffs office said. Raymond, a small town in western Minnesota, has around 800 residents. Highway 23 was closed in the area, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Gov. Tim Walz tweeted Thursday morning that he was traveling to the site of the derailment after speaking to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
BNSF said its field personnel were responding to the scene. There was no estimated time for reopening the track, the company said. No injuries were reported.
