Freight train carrying hazardous materials derails in western Arizona

A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in western Arizona in the latest such incident, officials have confirmed.

The derailment happened Wednesday night in Mohave County near the town of Topock near the California-Nevada border, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office said New York Times.

Information about the crash was first received after 8 p.m., said Anita Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office NYT. She said the derailment happened where the tracks ran parallel to Interstate 40.

She said she had no details on how many cars were on the train or what materials it was carrying when it derailed.

There were no immediate reports of spills following the derailment.

According to FOX10, a local affiliate of FOX News, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the BNSF Railway have been notified and are investigating the matter.

This is one of the latest train derailments to be reported in 2023, after a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern released over a million gallons of hazardous materials and pollutants into the environment around the city of East Palestine, Ohio in February, prompting a lawsuit by the State and conducted probes by the NTSB.