A freight train carrying ethanol derailed in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday morning, exploding into huge flames that lit the night sky and leading to the evacuation of a mile-wide area around the accident site, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
Eleven cars of a Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailed at roughly 2 a.m. not far from Ohio State University, near Interstate 71, The Monitor reported. The train had been on its way from Chicago to North Carolina when it went off-track in an industrial area that, luckily, was away from residential areas.
According to The Monitor, several of the tanker cars that were on fire were carrying ethanol, and authorities opted to let the fire burn out by itself rather than trying to extinguish it. The flames at times reached 20 to 30 feet.
Authorities were investigating what caused the derailment. Two people were hurt when they approached the train before it went on fire, but The Monitor said they were able to get to the hospital by themselves.
Red Cross organized an area at the state fairgrounds were 50 evacuees went.