An 18-wheel-drive truck struck a train with chemicals and fuel early Tuesday in Cameron, Texas, causing a huge explosion and starting a fire that is expected to burn for several days.
According to Cameron Sheriff Chris White, the city of 5400 in Milam County, about 120 miles northeast of Austin, was shocked by the quake at about 6:45 p.m.
White said the driver of an 18-wheel flatbed truck lost control of his vehicle, could not stop, swerved around a parked vehicle and moved into a railroad crossing, where his truck was on a passing BNSF train hit.
“No one was injured or killed,” White said.
A barn burned to the ground, and several nearby houses were evacuated, but most people returned to their homes.
The first 11 cars of the train were filled with gasoline, coal and petroleum products, which caused the first explosion this morning and ignited a fire that was still burning Tuesday night, White told NBC News.
A car further down the train filled with phosphoric acid solution was hooked up and moved to safety before being ignited by the burning fuel engines, and a specialized firefighter sent from BNSF arrived with heavy equipment to put out the fire.
“There are a lot of people working on it,” White said Tuesday night. “They indicate that it can take up to two or three days to put out the entire fire.”
Seven or eight homes in the ‘very rural area’ are affected and residents could be displaced for a few days, White said.
Lindsay Mullins, a spokeswoman for BNSF, did not immediately respond to a NBC News request for comment.
