Chemical-carrying freight train derails in Texas causing pile-up & sparking evacuations (VIDEO)

A freight train came off the rails in southeast Texas, resulting in a breach of five tank cars carrying chemicals. The crash, which was caught in a spectacular video, prompted the evacuation of residents in the area.

Footage captured by a nearby motorist showed one of the train cars collapsing onto the road close to the tracks before its contents burst out in a massive fountain. Several other cars also swiftly derailed, creating a pile-up.

A local man, who worked near the site of the crash, told NBC that it “sounded like a tornado coming.”

A “petroleum product” that did not pose a risk to the population leaked from four of the overturned cars after the derailment, the Orange County Office of Emergency Management said. However, another car contained a “corrosive product,” which was being contained by emergency responders.

People within a mile of the derailment were asked to evacuate, including elementary and middle school students in the town of Mauriceville, near the Texas-Louisiana state line.

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There were no reports of injuries as a result of the incident. The reasons for the derailment are being investigated.

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