Callaway, Minnesota – A small town in Minnesota has been evacuated on Thursday due to a collision between a freight train and a propane tanker truck that caught on fire after the crash, officials said.
The collision involved a northbound Canadian Pacific train and occurred at about 12:25 p.m. in Callaway in Becker County, according to railway spokesman, Andy Cummings. The town, of about 230 people, has been evacuated as a precaution measure, as reported by the Washington Post.
Two crew members from the train were hurt, Cummings said. They were transported to a Detroit Lakes hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) added.
The propane is being vented and burned off, the DPS said. None of the affected cars during the crash carried hazardous materials and none caught fire. Canadian Pacific also commented that the collision derailed seven empty cars and the locomotive of the 82-car train.
Officials closed a 2-mile stretch of highway 59 that runs north and south through Callaway and parallel to the tracks, Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a statement. Authorities ordered local citizens to take shelter in Bethany Lutheran Church, according to Star Tribune.
About a dozen people at 1:45 p.m. have arrived at the local church, Pastor Matthew Meyer said. He also added that the whole town is headed to safety as well.
Further investigation needed
The collision is still very recent to actually know what caused the crash and whether it was a human or a technical mistake. Authorities have declared that they will be conducting an investigation to find out the main cause of the collision.
“We will conduct a full investigation into the incident, with a focus on how the vehicle came to be on the tracks at that time,” Cummings said.
Source: The Washington Post