Huge ten-car freight train derailment in Tempe, Arizona sparks fireball and bridge collapse and fears of a toxic leak from tanker marked ‘hazardous materials’
- Pictures show the blaze over Tempe Beach Park after up to ten cars are thought to have derailed Wedesday
- The incident happened at 6am local time; authorities are still trying to determine what was aboard the trains
- There are no reported injuries and it is not know what caused the crash; lumber can be seen in the water
- At least 90 firefighters are on the scene in the crash which involved a Union Pacific train
- One eyewitness called the incident ‘a scene from hell’; footage showed huge flames, plumes of thick smoke
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A freight train derailed in Tempe, Arizona Wednesday morning, sparking a huge fire and causing part of a bridge to collapse.
Pictures from the scene show the blaze over Tempe Beach Park after up to ten cars are thought to have derailed, including a tanker labeled with a hazardous materials sign.
The incident happened at around 6am local time. Lumber and debris can be seen in the water. There are currently no reported injuries and it is not know what caused the crash.
Tempe police tweeted: ‘@TempePolice and Tempe Fire are on scene of a train derailment and large fire over Tempe Town Lake. Several roads are restricted near Tempe Town Lake and west of downtown Tempe. Please avoid the area.’
Police Chief Sylvia Moir tweeted: ‘Update- Tempe Train derailment and Fire- No injuries known at this time but the scene is very dangerous.
‘Stay out of Tempe Town Lake and away from the area.’
The crash was close to the scene of protests Monday night after around 200 people gathered in Tempe Beach Park. The protest to support the Black Lives Matter movement turned violent when demonstrators clashed with police, who fired teargas, in the middle of a roadway.
A freight train has derailed in Tempe, Arizona sparking a huge fire
Pictures from the scene Wednesday morning show part of the bridge over Tempe Beach Park has also collapsed
Tempe police tweeted: ‘@TempePolice and Tempe Fire are on scene of a train derailment and large fire over Tempe Town Lake. Several roads are restricted near Tempe Town Lake and west of downtown Tempe. Please avoid the area’
Pictures from the scene Wednesday morning show part of the bridge over Tempe Beach Park has also collapsed
Eyewitness Camille Kimball told CBS5: ‘I turned around to look and got the fright of my life.
‘Now there’s fire pouring into the lake from the middle of the bridge. It’ looks like a scene from hell, truly. A scene from hell. The flames are intense and the sky is filled with black smoke.’
At least 90 firefighters are on the scene in the crash which involved a Union Pacific train.
Valley Metro tweeted: ‘Service Alert-Update: Due to a heavy rail fire in Tempe, Valley Metro is terminating service eastbound at 38th St/Wash and Smith Martin/Apache Blvd in Tempe. Buses are being assembled to transport passengers around the incident.’
The incident happened at around 6:30am local time. Lumber and debris could be seen in the water
A derailed tanker was also labeled with a hazardous materials sign. It is not yet known if anyone has been injured or what caused the crash
Police Chief Sylvia Moir tweeted: ‘Update- Tempe Train derailment and Fire- No injuries known at this time but the scene is very dangerous’
Eyewitness Camille Kimball told CBS5 : ‘I turned around to look and got the fright of my life. ‘Now there’s fire pouring into the lake from the middle of the bridge. It’ looks like a scene from hell, truly. A scene from hell. The flames are intense and the sky is filled with black smoke’
Local TV station footage showed huge flames, plumes of thick, black smoke and train cars lying on the ground below the bridge.
Authorities are still trying to determine what was aboard the trains.
The 2.5-mile man-made lake is a popular recreation spot for jogging, cycling and boating located near Arizona State University.
Tempe hit the headlines earlier this week when a protest to support the Black Lives Matter movement turned violent.
After the crowd ignored orders to disperse, police deployed tear gas at the protesters, who responded by launching projectiles and shouting profanities as they moved toward a line of officers on bicycles.
Footage showed huge flames, plumes of thick, black smoke and train cars lying on the ground below the bridge
Authorities are still trying to determine what was aboard the trains
The 2.5-mile man-made lake is a popular recreation spot for jogging, cycling and boating located near Arizona State University