Crews Continue Cleanup After 50-Car Train Derails In Albert Lea
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Union Pacific Railroad says crews worked through the night to clean up a train derailment in Albert Lea.
Police in Albert Lea Saturday asked the public to avoid Hawthorne Street and Ulsted Avenue after a 50-car train derailed in the area.
Freeborn County officials say the train derailed in the 1300 block of Eastgate Road. There was a hazardous material leak, and local residents were asked to shelter in place. The leak was not airborne, police said.
Early Saturday evening, authorities confirmed that the substance leaking from the derailed cars was hydrochloric acid.
"Around 1:45 p.m., approximately 28 cars on a Union Pacific train derailed near Goose Lake in Albert Lea. The train crew was not hurt, and the cause is under investigation," Union Pacific said in a statement.
Authorities on the scene say there were no injuries reported as a result of the derailment.
The train derailed shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Sunday morning, Union Pacific said about eight cars had been cleared from the track, and heavy equipment had arrived to help the cleanup efforts.
