Sheriff’s office: 2 trains derail in eastern North Dakota; 1 carried lumber, other was empty

CASSELTON, N.D. – An empty crude oil train and another one hauling freight including lumber derailed near rural Casselton Thursday evening.

The cause of the incident around 5:34 p.m. near an ethanol plant was not immediately clear. No injuries or fires have been reported and no evacuations have been ordered. Cass County Sheriff’s office Sgt. Tara Morris said both trains were travelling at very low speeds.

Amy McBeth, a spokeswoman for BNSF Railway, said initial reports indicated 19 cars hauling lumber products on an eastbound train derailed and were struck by a an empty oil crude train travelling westbound on an adjacent track. The impact caused cars from the empty oil crude train to derail. BNSF operates both trains.

Morris said propane tanks were struck in the derailment.

Casselton was the scene of another derailment last year, when a train carrying soybeans derailed and caused a train carrying crude oil to jump the tracks. There were no injuries, but residents were asked to evacuate because of smoke that drifted when several rail cars burned.