Residents in the western Minnesota city of Raymond were evacuated after a train derailed and caught fire early Thursday morning.
In total 22 cars on the Burlington Northern Sante Fe train derailed. BNSF said Thursday morning that the train was hauling ethanol and corn syrup. 10 of the cars contained ethanol.
Law enforcement and EMS established an evacuation area of a half-mile around the crash site.
Residents were asked to leave their homes. Those with nowhere to go were taken to an emergency collection site at Central Minnesota Christian School building in nearby Prinsburg. They were taken to Unity Church later in the morning where volunteers served breakfast.
BNSF crews including President and CEO Katie Farmer arrived to the scene hours after the derailment. Farmer spoke during a news conference in Prinsburg.
"We don't know a lot at this point," Farmer said. "We're working with NTSB to be able to get their go ahead to move into the site to clean-up, remediate, and put out the fires."
"Thanks to the quick work by first responders assisting the Raymond community, I am told the fire is under control and there have been no injuries", said Michelle Fischbach (R) who represents the region. "My team is on the ground with local officials and will work to assist in every way we can."
State Representative Dave Baker (R-Willmar) also issued a statement saying they are grateful there are no injuries or fatalities.
“We all owe a debt of gratitude to our first responders who reacted quickly to evacuate the area and made sure residents could be moved to safety," says Baker. "I would also like to thank the generous residents of Prinsburg and the Central Minnesota Christian School for stepping up and making sure that the evacuated had a place to go. Moving forward, I remain in constant contact with city, county, state, and federal officials to make sure that the community has the support they need.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN that about 14 cars were carrying hazardous materials. BNSF said the only hazardous material on board was ethanol.
“We’ve been in touch with the governor,” Buttigieg said, and Environmental Protection Agency officials were en route to the site “given the hazardous material situation.”