Plumes of huge black smoke have been seen miles away from the crash site after a freight train carrying flammable liquid derailed near Dupo, Illinois, prompting an evacuation of railroad staff.
The accident occurred at around 12:45 pm local time at Union Pacific’s Dupo Yard, when the train was being prepared for departure, the railroad said. The derailment caused a tank car with methyl isobutyl ketone solvent to catch fire.
There have so no reports of deaths and injuries far been, with railroad staff safely evacuated from the yard.
Footage from the scene showed the fire raging and more than a dozen overturned cars scattered around the tracks.
Firefighters have been trying to contain the blaze, with their work complicated by the weather as thermometers show 90 degree Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) in the area.