CARRINGTON, N.D. (AP) – Rail cars carrying hazardous material derailed and burst into flames Friday, July 5th about 10 miles southeast of Carrington, but officials said no one was hurt and the threat to those living nearby appeared to be minimal.
Twenty-nine cars of a CPKC train derailed around 3:45 a.m. in an area surrounded by farmland, said Andrew Kirking, emergency management director for Foster County.
The cars were carrying anhydrous ammonia, sulfur and methanol, said Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. The ammonia was the biggest risk.
“Wind has been in our favor on this,” Suess said. “That risk has greatly subsided. Still there — as long as fires are burning.”
Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in the air can cause burning of the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract, and can result in blindness, lung damage or death, health officials say. Exposure to lower amounts can result in coughing and irritation of the nose and throat.
Kirking said the cause of the derailment wasn’t known. The engineer and conductor got away safely, he said. Kirking said it appeared that 10 to 15 of the rail cars caught fire.
CPKC said in a statement that it has “initiated its emergency response plan and launched a comprehensive, coordinated response.”
Photo courtesy of Doug Zink