BORDULAC, N.D. — Rail cars carrying hazardous material derailed and burst into flames Friday in a remote area of North Dakota, 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 that's about 140 miles northwest of Fargo, 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, but wind was carrying the smoke away from the nearby town of Bordulac, which has about 20 residents.
“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.
For now, officials do not plan to evacuate nearby residents, but that could change if the wind shifts, Suess said.
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. Video posted on the social platform X showed the blaze burning intensely. It was still burning as of midday Friday. A railroad fire crew was on the scene.
CPKC said in a statement that it has “initiated its emergency response plan and launched a comprehensive, coordinated response.”
CPKC was the result of a merger last year of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
