Freight train carrying hazardous material derails in Arizona

TOPOCK, Arizona (AP) — A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in western Arizona, near the state’s border with California and Nevada, on Wednesday evening, an official said.

The train derailed near the town of Topock, Anita Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said, adding that she was not aware of any spills or leaks.

The derailment occurred near milepost 9 of Interstate 40, Mortensen said, which is a rural, non-residential area about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Lake Havasu City.

Mortensen said she had no details about how many cars were on the train, or what materials it had been carrying when it derailed. No injuries have been reported.

The sheriff’s office had notified the National Transportation Safety Board and the railroad company BNSF, the two entities that she said would be responding to the accident, she said.

Neither replied immediately to requests for comment on Wednesday night.

This incident comes weeks after a freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, igniting a fire and causing hundreds of people to be evacuated. The train was on its way from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania.

Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke high into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health impacts even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people.