Follow Up: Cleanup underway following fiery train derailment in McKinley County

VIDEO: A traffic catastrophe in western New Mexico is finally over. A freight train carrying propane derailed near the Arizona state line Friday afternoon, caught on fire, and exploded. The fiery disaster shut down I-40 in both directions for a couple of days and forced some nearby residents to evacuate their homes. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. BNSF officials confirmed 35 cars derailed near the Arizona state line and six of those train cars were carrying propane. The derailment sparked a massive fire that shut down all nearby roads – including I-40 – through the weekend. The McKinley County fire chief says crews had to let all the extra propane burn off before they could safely contain the fire and reopen the area. I-40 is open again but the incident is still causing traffic problems miles and miles away.
KOB-TV NBC 4 Albuquerque

New video shows derailed train explosion near New Mexico-Arizona border in McKinley County

VIDEO: New dashcam video shows the dramatic explosion after a train derailed at the New Mexico-Arizona border Friday afternoon. Officials say they don’t know what caused the explosion yet, but they do know a total of 35 train cars belonging to BNSF were involved in the crash- according to the McKinley County Fire & Rescue. “There was a report, that initially, there was a large explosion,” explained Lawrence Montoya Jr., Fire Chief for McKinley County Fire & Rescue. “When we got on scene, you could see a large plume of smoke.” Six of those train cars were carrying propane. As a result, much of I-40 was closed down for the last couple of days as state, county, tribal, private, and federal agencies responded.
KRQE-TV CBS/FOX 13 Albuquerque