Rail cars carrying hazardous materials derailed and burst into flames on Friday, July 5th in a remote area of North Dakota, but authorities assured that no one was injured and the threat to those living nearby appears to be minimal.
Twenty-nine cars from a CPKC train derailed around 3:45 in the morning in an area surrounded by farmland about 225 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Fargo, said Andrew Kirking, Foster County emergency management director.
Hazardous materials involved
The train cars were carrying anhydrous ammonia, sulfur, and methanol, detailed Bill Suess, director of the spill research program at the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. Ammonia was the greatest risk, but the wind was blowing the smoke away from the nearby town of Bordulac, which has around 20 residents.
"The wind has been in our favor on this," Suess said. "That risk has decreased considerably. It will continue to exist as long as the flames keep burning."
Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in the air can cause burning in the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract, and can lead to blindness, lung damage, or death, health authorities emphasized. Exposure to lower amounts can cause coughing and irritation of the nose and throat.
For now, authorities do not plan to evacuate residents from nearby areas, but that depends on the wind direction, Suess explained.
Emergency response
Kirking said that the cause of the derailment is unknown. The engineer and the driver escaped unharmed, he added.
According to Kirking, it seemed that between 10 and 15 of the train cars caught fire. A video posted on the social platform X showed flames burning intensely. As of noon on Friday, they were still burning. A railroad firefighting team was on site.
The CPKC stated in a press release that it had "initiated its emergency response plan and launched a comprehensive and coordinated response".
CPKC was the result of the merger last year of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern.