CALLAWAY, Minn. - A small community in northwestern Minnesota has been evacuated after a Canadian Pacific train collided with a semi hauling propane Thursday.
Canadian Pacific (CP) spokesman Andy Cummings tells KARE 11 that a northbound CP train hit a commercial vehicle near Callaway, a town of nearly 250 people, around 12:45 p.m. Members of the train crew suffered minor injuries, but were treated and released from a Detroit Lakes hospital earlier.
We are thankful they are safe, and appreciate the good work of emergency services and medical personnel in responding to this incident.
Cummings says after being allowed closer access to the scene, CP investigators were able to determine a total of 11 railcars and one locomotive derailed in this incident. The continuing propane fire has delayed the process of rerailing cars, repairing tracks and cleaning up the mess.
Overnight there was a massive blast caught on camera, that appears to have originated with the burning truck. No one was injured in the explosion.
Crew and witness interviews indicate the train crew sounded the locomotive’s horn as the train approached the crossing. At this point it remains unclear why the propane truck was on the tracks at the time of the collision.
Highway 59 in Callaway has been shut down to traffic and is being detoured on county roads 14, 21 and 26.
Callaway is about 50 miles east of Fargo, North Dakota.