Illinois Train Explosion
Capt. Steve Haywood of the Ottawa Fire Department said the train's tanker cars were shipping ethanol and other materials for Decatur-based corn processor Archer Daniels Midland when it derailed around 2 a.m. At least six tanker cars burned, he said. No injuries were reported.
"It was the tallest thing in town," 19-year-old Dylan Carlson said of the flames, which he recorded from his home about four blocks away. He described a sweet smell, "almost like if you roasted maple syrup."
The evacuation of Tiskilwa, a village of about 800 people about 100 miles west of Chicago, was strictly precautionary and there was no immediate danger, said Les Grant, a spokesman for Bureau County Emergency Management. Evacuees were taken to a nearby high school. Illinois Train Explosion,
The glow from the initial fire could be seen from miles away, but Grant said the blaze was contained by midmorning.
"Pretty much things are under control right now. ... The initial threat has been addressed," Grant said.
Tiskilwa resident Laura Henry said she heard a strange clacking noise followed by an unnerving boom that shook her and her husband from bed at their home about a mile from the derailment. They'd been sleeping with the window open and Henry was lying awake sometime after 2 a.m. when she heard the train coming.
"It was like something very heavy dropped," Henry said. "You definitely felt the ground shake when you heard the boom," she said.
Fearing a derailment, the couple decided to see if they could help and called 911 as they ran to the tracks, Henry said. At the edge of town, they saw tanker cars ablaze.
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