Freight train carrying hazardous materials derails in western Arizona

There were no immediate reports of spills after the derailment

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

The derailment happened on Wednesday evening in Mohave County, near the town of Topock near the border with California and Nevada, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told the New York Times.

The information about the crash was first received after 8pm, Anita Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, told NYT. She said the derailment happened at a location where the tracks ran parallel to Interstate 40.

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

There were no immediate reports of spills after the derailment.

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

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