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3 May 2024
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Freight train derails, catches fire in Arizona, US
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Federal authorities are investigating after a freight train carrying fuel derailed near the Arizona-New Mexico border, igniting a large fire and prompting an evacuation and traffic closures. A BNSF freight train derailed on Friday, 26 April 2024, at 13h45 MT near Manuelito, New Mexico, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. "The preliminary information we have is the train derailed at least 22 cars including multiple propane tank cars," the NTSB said in a statement.
The train was transporting non-odorous propane and gasoline and a half-dozen rail cars caught fire and burned for hours after the derailment, New Mexico State Police Lt Phil Vargas said. It looks like they’re just letting those (rail) cars burn themselves out,” Vargas said.
Initial passersby posted video and photos on social media of crumpled train cars and billowing, black smoke.
No injuries were reported in the midday train wreck near Lupton, Arizona. BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent said company personnel were on site working to clear the wreckage. Kent said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.
Interstate 40 was closed by authorities in both directions in the area in the early afternoon, directing trucks and motorists off the freeway to alternate routes, New Mexico State Police and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced.
Nearby residences and a truck stop were evacuated as a precaution as winds carried away thick smoke and local firefighting crews responded. The derailment also led Amtrak to cancel some passenger travel, including on the route between Los Angeles and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Traffic on I-40 backed up for more than 10 miles, though detours were opened on two-lane roads and highways, said Kristine Bustos-Mihelcic, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The agency warned Friday evening of an extended highway closure that would increase traffic on other interstate highways, including I-25 and I-10.
The Arizona Corporation Commission that oversees railroad safety said in a social media post on X that 10 rail cars were involved in the derailment and that two were transporting liquid petroleum. The agency said it planned to send a railroad inspector to the site but later learned the derailment happened on the New Mexico side of the tracks.
Sources: Arizona News
The train was transporting non-odorous propane and gasoline and a half-dozen rail cars caught fire and burned for hours after the derailment, New Mexico State Police Lt Phil Vargas said. It looks like they’re just letting those (rail) cars burn themselves out,” Vargas said.
Initial passersby posted video and photos on social media of crumpled train cars and billowing, black smoke.
No injuries were reported in the midday train wreck near Lupton, Arizona. BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent said company personnel were on site working to clear the wreckage. Kent said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.
Interstate 40 was closed by authorities in both directions in the area in the early afternoon, directing trucks and motorists off the freeway to alternate routes, New Mexico State Police and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced.
Nearby residences and a truck stop were evacuated as a precaution as winds carried away thick smoke and local firefighting crews responded. The derailment also led Amtrak to cancel some passenger travel, including on the route between Los Angeles and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Traffic on I-40 backed up for more than 10 miles, though detours were opened on two-lane roads and highways, said Kristine Bustos-Mihelcic, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The agency warned Friday evening of an extended highway closure that would increase traffic on other interstate highways, including I-25 and I-10.
The Arizona Corporation Commission that oversees railroad safety said in a social media post on X that 10 rail cars were involved in the derailment and that two were transporting liquid petroleum. The agency said it planned to send a railroad inspector to the site but later learned the derailment happened on the New Mexico side of the tracks.
Sources: Arizona News