Officials said that a train carrying hazardous materials derailled in northwest Minnesota, near the Canada border. This forced the closure of an highway.
The railway company reported that 24 cars of a Canada Pacific Kansas City mixed freight train derailed at 4:30 pm local time in an area without any people in Kittson County. This is 4 miles south-west of Lancaster.
The Lancaster Fire Department reported that some of the vehicles were carrying a flammable liquid which was contained within the car.
Canada Pacific Kansas City issued a statement saying that the initial assessment of first responders at the scene was that our rail cars were not leaking.
The scene was not near any waterways or fires.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of derailment.
The railway reported that emergency response teams including hazardous materials experts were deployed on the scene.
Gov. Tim Walz Tweeted Wednesday night: “Glad that there have been no reported injuries and the site has been contained.”
He said that experts were on their way to the site to make sure they had everything the community needed.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported that Highway 59, south of Lancaster, was closed on Wednesday night due to “a train derailment.”
The Department of Transportation said that the highway will remain closed for two to three working days to allow local responders to complete their work.
This was the latest train derailment to occur in Minnesota. Last weekend, tons of rock were spilled when a train derailment near St. Cloud. In March, near Raymond, a train derailment caused a spillage of ethanol and Corn Syrup.
