© Reuters.
(Reuters) – A train derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on Friday evening, causing a large fire in the area, local media reported.
Images posted on social media from East Palestine, a city northwest of Pittsburgh, showed multiple train cars on fire. Smoke can be seen rising from the flames and filling the atmosphere.
According to several media reports, emergency crews evacuated residents from their homes within a mile (1.6 km) of the fire.
It was not immediately clear if there were any victims. The East Palestine Police Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for details.
Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE: ) freight railroad “coordinated closely with local emergency services while mobilizing its own teams,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement.
The person did not immediately respond to inquiries about what the train was carrying or what caused the derailment.