GALENA, ILL – A train with 105 cars de-railed in Illinois Thursday, and the crude oil it was carrying started on fire and continues to burn.
A BNSF Railway train originating from North Dakota derailed on BNSF’s mainline track at approximately 1:20 pm CST on March 5, 2015 in a rural area south of Galena, Illinois. There are no injuries reported. The train consists of 105 loaded cars, which includes 103 cars loaded with crude oil and 2 buffer cars loaded with sand. A total of 21 cars derailed. An initial pool fire occurred that we believe impacted 5 rail cars and that fire continues to burn. Local, state and BNSF Railway emergency personnel are on the scene working to contain the incident. BNSF personnel arrived soon after the event occurred to be part of the response.
BNSF said it continues to be unaware of any injuries. Local officials have announced a voluntary evacuation of an area that is within one mile of the incident.
“We are grateful for the efforts of the first responders at this incident and sincerely regret the inconvenience this event has caused to the community,” BNSF said in a statement.
The cause of the derailment is still under investigation. BNSF is working closely with the Federal Railroad Administration as to the cause. All tank cars involved in the incident were the unjacketed CPC-1232 model with half-height head shields.
