(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Officials in the Chicago suburb of Matteson, Ill., have lifted the evacuation order that was put in place after a Canadian National Railway freight train derailed on Thursday.
The Canadian National Railway Company derailed late Thursday morning on the CN tracks at 217th and Main Streets.
At about 11:50 a.m., the village ordered mandatory evacuation for residents who live in an area that spans: 1 mile south of Main Street and 217th Street; 1 mile west of Main Street; and one-quarter of a mile east of Main Street.
Responders said at least one of the cars was leaking, and the evacuation order was put into place while officials worked to determine if it posed a threat to the public.
"Initially, the products were identified as liquid petroleum gas, LPG propane. Those cars had only residual amounts in them, which is a very small amount," Deputy Fire Chief Steve DeYoung said.
As of Thursday evening, there were no reports of injuries.
Trevor Neal, who lives within the evacuation zone, told WBBM Newsradio that he wants to make sure Canadian National Railway Company is held accountable.
"We don't know what's in those containers," he said. "They're saying, 'Evacuate,' and I'd like to reiterate that — 'Evacuate' — because we don't know what's going to happen, and I just want to make sure they tell us everything and there's nothing that they keep hidden. This is serious."
Canadian National Railway Company has not yet returned WBBM Newsradio's requests for comment.
Matteson Village Spokesman Sean Howard said the village had no choice but to call for an evacuation of the area.
“We immediately went into our evacuation mode because we now know there could potentially be a leaking substance in the area,” he said.
The derailment briefly shut down service on the Metra Electric Line between University Park and 211th Street.
WBBM's Bernie Tafoya, Hayley Hansen and Neil Fiorito contributed to this report.
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