Union Pacific probes train derailment, hydrochloric acid leak

A still image form a video from the site of a 28-car Union Pacific train derailment.

Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) is investigating what caused 28 train cars to derail in Minnesota on Saturday, prompting an evacuation after a leak of hydrochloric acid.

The derailment happened in Albert Lea, Minnesota, about 100 miles south of Minneapolis around 1:45 p.m. The crew was not injured, a Union Pacific said in a statement. 

The train was hauling 28 cars with a mix of commodities, including two that were leaking hydrochloric acid, the railway said.

“Union Pacific is working with emergency responders to determine a response plan,” the railway said.

Emergency responders issued an evacuation order for the vicinity of the crash as a precaution. 

“At this time, there is no immediate harm to the public in the area,” Rich Hall, emergency management director of the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement.

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