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A fireball goes up at the site of an oil train derailment Monday, Dec 30, 2013, in Casselton, N.D. The train carrying crude oil derailed near Casselton Monday afternoon. Several explosions were reported as some cars on the mile-long train caught fire. (AP Photo/Bruce Crummy)

Partial evacuation of North Dakota town near fiery oil derailment; officials say precautionary

CASSELTON, N.D. – A train carrying crude oil derailed just a mile (1.6 kilometres) before it would have cut through the heart of a small North Dakota town, shaking residents with a series of explosions that sent flame and black smoke skyward. No one was hurt, but officials were evacuating as many as 300 people as a precaution.

The mile-(1.6-kilometre)long BNSF Railway Co. train left the tracks about 2:30 p.m. Monday, and up to 10 cars caught fire. They were still burning four hours later as darkness fell, and authorities said they would be allowed to burn out.

Casselton has about 2,400 residents and is about 25 miles (40 kilometres) west of Fargo.

Authorities hadn’t yet been able to untangle exactly how the derailment happened, but a second train carrying grain was involved.

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