An 18-wheeler truck collided with a chemical and fuel-laden train in Cameron, Texas, early Tuesday, causing a massive explosion and fire, which was expected to burn for several days.
According to Cameron Sheriff Chris White, the city of Milam County, about 50,000 miles northeast of Austin, trembled sharply.
White said the driver of the 18-wheeled flatbed truck lost control of his vehicle, was unable to stop, crashed into a parked vehicle and into a railway crossing, where his truck collided with a passing BNSF train.
“No one was injured or killed,” White said.
One pantry burned to the ground, and many nearby houses were evacuated, but most have returned to their homes.
The first 11 cars on the train were filled with gasoline, coal and petroleum products, causing an initial explosion and the fire was also set on fire Tuesday evening, White said.
The bottom of the train loaded with phosphoric acid solution was cut off and moved to safety before being set on fire by burning fuel cars, and a special fire crew sent by the BNSF arrived with heavy equipment to extinguish the heavy lights.
“They’ve got a lot of people working on it,” White said Tuesday evening. “They suggest it could take two or three days to contain the entire fire.”
Seven or eight homes in the “very rural area” have been affected, and those residents could be displaced in several days, White said.
BNSF spokeswoman Courtney Wallace confirmed the investigation was ongoing and said 13 of the train’s 110 cars derailed, 10 of which were burning Tuesday evening.
“Once the fire is contained, we will be able to determine how much product is left in the car and work to remove them safely from the site,” Wallace said in a statement. “Air quality tests are ongoing in the area.”
