A train carrying a chemical product derailed in the northern United States, causing a gigantic fire and the evacuation of several hundred people, American officials and media said Saturday.
The derailment of this 50-car train Friday night in eastern Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, did not cause any casualties.
Multiple explosions were heard on Saturday as train cars continued to burn, according to local media, despite the efforts of firefighters slowed by the freezing of water tankers due to the polar cold that hit this part of North America this weekend.
This train carried vinyl chloride, a chemical used in the manufacture of plastic.
About 2,000 residents, about half the population of East Palestine, were ordered to evacuate their homes. Local authorities have ordered all residents within a 1 mile radius of the scene of the accident to leave the scene.
“We can never say enough about staying away from the scene of the accident,” the mayor of East Palestine wrote in a message posted to Facebook.