An evacuation was ordered near a railroad crossing in a small eastern Ohio town Friday night after a train derailed and caught fire, officials said.
The mayor said there were no known injuries after the derailment occurred in East Palestine, a village on the Pennsylvania border and north of West Virginia, but firefighters from three states were responding.
“Everyone is working together to try and resolve this situation,” Mayor Trent Conway said in a video broadcast by Youngstown’s NBC affiliate WFMJ.
He said the Environmental Protection Agency has been monitoring air quality so far without any problems. Two evacuation centers were opened and the American Red Cross was notified.
It is not clear what was in the train bogies. Norfolk Southern said it was aware of the train derailment and was coordinating with local authorities and mobilizing its teams.
People within a mile of the James Street crossing were told to leave, and people in other areas were told to stay indoors.
Conway also asked people to stay away from the area and allow first responders to approach the derailment.
East Palestine is a community of about 4,700 about 20 miles southeast of Youngstown.
Conway asked people to keep first responders in their thoughts and prayers.
“Not only is it a cold night, but they are dealing with a situation that many of them have never dealt with,” he said.