Evacuation underway after Minnesota toxic train derailment, chemical fire

On Thursday, residents of Raymond, Minnesota, a small town of about 780 people around 2 hours west of Minneapolis, were told to evacuate after 22 cars out of a 40-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and caught fire.

According to Fox News, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, "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."

The statement continued, "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, Minnesota."

BNSF told Fox that the incident happened around 1 am and "no injuries were reported."

In their statement, BNSF said, "BNSF field personnel are responding to assess the derailment site and will be working closely with local first responders."

The Daily Mail reports Governor Tim Waltz said that residents were expected to be able to return to their homes later on Thursday.

The area's Congressional Representative, Michelle Fischbach, said, "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.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, "The reason that we are pushing so hard on railroad safety is to make sure there are fewer of these incidents."

There have been a string of train derailments reported following the February 3 Norfolk Southern 50-car train derailment that released toxic chemicals into East Palestine, Ohio, a community Buttigieg did not visit for 18 days following the incident.