A CSX freight train crashed into a trash truck and derailed Tuesday
in a Baltimore suburb and the explosion that followed rattled homes at least a
half-mile away, sending a plume of smoke into the air that could be seen for
miles, officials and witnesses said.
CORRECTION Train Derailment Maryland A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Mark Paugh, Ryan Paugh Mark Paugh carries his 15-month-old son Ryan as they watch smoke from a train derailment in White Marsh, Md., Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md. A CSX cargo train crashed into a trash truck and derailed Tuesday in a Baltimore suburb and the explosion that followed rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire, officials and witnesses said. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
AP Photo/Charles Dharapak
Train Derailment Maryland This photo provided by Kevin Lindemann, shows an explosion outside Baltimore on Tuesday, May, 28, 2013. Baltimore County fire officials say a train derailed in a Baltimore suburb on Tuesday and an explosion was heard in the area. A fire spokeswoman says the train derailed about 2 p.m. Tuesday in White Marsh, Md. (AP Photo/Kevin Lindemann)
AP Photo/Kevin Lindemann
Train Derailment Maryland This photo provided by Dale Walston, shows an explosion outside Baltimore on Tuesday, May, 28, 2013. Baltimore County fire officials say a train derailed in a Baltimore suburb on Tuesday and an explosion was heard in the area. A fire spokeswoman says the train derailed about 2 p.m. Tuesday in White Marsh, Md. (AP Photo/Kevin Lindemann)
AP Photo/Kevin Lindemann
APTOPIX Train Derailment Maryland This still taken from video provided by James LeBrun shows an explosion outside Baltimore on Tuesday, May, 28, 2013. Baltimore County fire officials say a train derailed in a Baltimore suburb on Tuesday and an explosion was heard in the area. A fire spokeswoman says the train derailed about 2 p.m. Tuesday in White Marsh, Md. (AP Photo/James LeBrun)
AP Photo/James LeBrun
APTOPIX Train Derailment Maryland A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
APTOPIX Train Derailment Maryland A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
APTOPIX Train Derailment Maryland A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
CORRECTION Train Derailment Maryland CORRECTS CITY TO ROSEDALE - A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
CORRECTION Train Derailment Maryland CORRECTS CITY TO ROSEDALE - A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
CORRECTION Train Derailment Maryland CORRECTS CITY TO ROSEDALE - A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
John Hohman, Jeffrey Segal, Kevin Kamenetz Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamentz stands with Baltimore County Fire Chief John J. Hohman, left, and Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Segal as he speaks to reporters about the White Marsh train derailment in Rosedale, Md., Tuesday, May 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON – A CSX freight train crashed into a trash truck and derailed Tuesday in a Baltimore suburb and the explosion that followed rattled homes at least a half-mile away, sending a plume of smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, officials and witnesses said.
The train went off the tracks at about 2 p.m. in Rosedale, a Baltimore eastern suburb. Hazmat teams were on the scene, but Baltimore County Fire Chief John J. Hohman said at a news conference that no toxic inhalants were burning and officials did not order an evacuation. The truck driver was taken to the hospital in serious condition and two CSX workers aboard weren’t hurt, fire officials said.
Dale Walston said he lives about a half-mile away from the blast site and that he thought he could smell chemicals.
“It shook my house pretty violently and knocked things off the shelves,” he said in an email to The Associated Press.
See amateur video of the explosion following the derailment below:
The thick plume of black smoke drifted across the Baltimore city line and covered the eastern part of the city. The face of one warehouse near the train tracks blew off. CSX spokesman Gary Sease said in an email that sodium chlorate is on one of the trains, which the Department of Transportation classifies as a hazardous material.
However, Hohman said the chemical is not in one of the cars that was still burning into the evening. Earlier, fire officials had said building actually collapsed, but Hohman modified that later to say two warehouses were heavily damaged by the explosion and other buildings were damaged, but none collapsed. Overhead photos showed the front of one warehouse blown out.
An Amtrak spokeswoman said its Northeast Corridor service is not being affected.
More than one video posted to Facebook shows the fire, then minutes later, an explosion rattles the area. Hohman said firefighters had considered letting the the blazes burn out but later decided to hose them down. They had advised anyone within 20 blocks who can see the smoke to leave but said later people could stay.
