A train with a least 25 freight cars has derailed, spilling out its contents into the area and a nearby river. The latest derailment to hit a train in the USA happened at around 9am in Sanders County, a rural area around 250 miles northwest of Butte in Montana. Emergency services rushed to the scene and have assured the the local community there is no immediate threat to the public. It is not clear if anyone was on board when the train derailed, or what the cars were carrying. No injuries have been reported at this time.
Dramatic pictures of the derailment show the huge damage caused with the cars off the tracks and falling into nearby water.
Montana Rail Link, which owns the railroad, is aware of the situation.
It is also not yet clear which company the derailed train belongs to.
Last year, there were 1,164 train derailments, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, and on average the US experiences around three derailments per day.
The latest comes after similar incidents in Minnesota, Ohio and South Dakota, each carrying hazardous materials that caused safety concerns.
On February 3, a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, leading to the release of over one million gallons of hazardous chemicals into the surrounding environment.
Hazardous materials entered the water, including vinyl chloride, a carcinogen which also breaks down into other dangerous compounds like dioxins, hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide.
The spill killed nearly 44,000 animals in nearby waterways, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
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The director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency told the House of Representatives at the time it would be at least two more months before clean up of the incident is finished
The most recent of the train derailments happened during the early hours of last Thursday in Raymond, Minnesota after a 22-car train carrying dangerous chemicals derailed and several caught fire.
Hundreds of nearby residents were quickly evacuated as a precaution after the freight train carrying hazardous substances careered off the tracks at around 1am.
The train was carrying ethanol, a renewable fuel, which can be flammable and extremely volatile.
Sheriff Eric Tollefson said in a statement: “Emergency personnel were dispatched and soon located a Burlington Northern Sante Fe train that had numerous rail cars derail on the western edge of Raymond but within the city limits.
“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.
“An evacuation area of 1/2 mile was established around the crash site and law enforcement officers and other EMS assisted with that evacuation.
“Residents were instructed to leave their homes and an emergency collection site for those with nowhere to go was established at the Central Minnesota Christian School building in nearby Prinsburg. MN.
“The site remains active as the fire is being contained, no travel is advised to the city of Raymond. The location of the shelter will be moved later this morning to the Unity Church, also in Prinsburg, MN.”
Also last month, another train derailed when 31 cars out of 70 of the cars came off the tracks in North Dakota.
The crash happened when a Canadian Pacific train derailed around a mile southeast of Wyndmere in Richland County.
Several of the cars were again carrying hazardous materials. No injuries were reported at the time.
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