US train derails, triggering large fire

A railway tanker full of ethanol has exploded in Ohio’s state capital Columbus after it derailed from its tracks.

The US National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a 10-person team to investigate the derailment on the Norfolk Southern Corporation tracks. It led to spectacular explosions and the burning of three tanker cars each carrying 30 thousand gallons of ethanol.

The train derailment on Wednesday also led to a hurried evacuation of about a hundred people in an urban neighbourhood nearby. Nobody aboard the train was hurt. Officials say they don’t know yet what caused the accident.