The fire at a partially derailed train carrying toxic chemicals in Tennessee was extinguished Thursday, but an evacuation order remained for 5,000 people near the site of the crash outside of Knoxville, officials said.
The decision to immediately extinguish the fire was made at 5 p.m. ahead of forecasts of 30 mph winds that could cause the blaze to spread, the Federal Railroad Administration said. By 7 p.m. ET, the fire was out, train operator CSX said in a statement.
A total of 52 people sought treatment at a hospital and 25 patients were admitted after a train car carrying acrylonitrile — which authorities described as a "highly flammable and toxic gas" — went off the tracks in Maryville around at around midnight, officials said.
Seven police officers who were first on the scene were treated at Blount Memorial Hospital after complaining of burning eyes and throats, the railroad administration said.
"We are hopeful that they are not seriously affected, and glad that they are getting expert medical care," Craig Camuso, CSX regional vice president of state government and community affairs, said in a statement.
Only one car, which contained 24,000 gallons of acrylonitrile, derailed and caught fire, CSX said.
CSX said it said up a community center for those displaced by the accident, which caused officials to evacuate residents in a two mile radius in the middle of the night, and the evacuation order remained in place Thursday evening. The company said it was working to help with housing those displaced.
The derailed car remained upright, the federal railroad administration said.
The train was headed from Cincinnati to Waycross, Georgia, and is made up of a total of 45 loaded cars and 12 empty ones. Aside from acrylonitrile, the train also carried propane and other products. By late Thursday, 35 train cars were removed, while 21 remained on the site until the track is repaired.
The accident happened about 15 miles south of Knoxville.
