An early morning train derailment in the small town of Raymond in west-central Minnesota started a large fire and resulted in evacuations, authorities said.
BNSF Railway said in a statement that about 22 cars of a train carrying ethanol and corn syrup among other things left the tracks at about 1:02 a.m.. No one was hurt, the carrier said.
The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department said several cars were burning and an evacuation zone was set up with a half-mile radius around the derailment site. A shelter was set up in a nearby church and the shelter was to be moved to a church later in the day. The Red Cross was assisting.
Transportation Secretary Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted that the Federal Railroad Administration was on-scene and, "We are tracking closely as more details emerge and will be involved in investigation."
Raymond is a town of about 800 residents about two hours west of the Twin Cities, CBS Minnesota points out.
