City on alert as chemical freight train derails

A freight train carrying hydrochloric acid and other hazardous materials derailed in a downtown Baltimore tunnel and caught fire, pushing thick, black smoke into surrounding neighbourhoods and forcing officials to temporarily close all major roads into the city.

Civil defence sirens blared across Baltimore as firefighters donned oxygen masks to enter the tunnel. Roads were closed for several hours after the accident at the request of police and firefighters, and thousands of baseball fans were turned away from a Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards. Boats were kept out of the city’s Inner Harbour.

Eight tanker cars were carrying hazardous materials, including hydrochloric acid, which can burn the lungs if inhaled, CSX spokesman Rob Gould said.

‘‘We don’t know what’s on fire,’’ Gould said.

Mayor Martin O’Malley said the smoke coming from the tunnel was being monitored and ‘‘so far, all the air quality has been OK. There’s some really hazardous stuff in there.

‘‘If we erred on the side of caution, everybody will have to hold me accountable for the traffic disruption,’’ O’Malley said.

About 100 firefighters were at the scene. ‘‘Right now they are basically in a defensive posture. To be honest, there is no active firefighting going on,’’ fire department spokesman Hector Torres said.

Two firefighters were injured and taken to two hospitals suffering from chest pains.

One firefighter who went into the tunnel described it as ‘‘totally black’’ and said his colleagues were forced back by the heat, despite protective equipment.

‘‘There are still hazardous materials in the smoke,’’ Torres said.

Authorities warned people to stay indoors, close windows in homes and cars and shut off ventilation systems.

‘‘This isn’t a panic,’’ said Kurt Kocher of the city’s Department of Public Works. Residents and tourists could leave the city, he added.

Baltimore Gas & Electric said 1,200 customers were without power.

Gould said the train was in the one-and-a-half-mile tunnel when a sensor in the first of three locomotives detected an unidentified problem.

The two-person crew stopped the train in the tunnel and walked back to check the other cars. They were beaten back by smoke so they uncoupled the locomotives and rode out of the tunnel.

The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.

Firefighters used thermal imaging equipment to pinpoint the train’s location within the tunnel, which stretches north from Camden Yards.

The train was travelling from Hamlet, North Carolina, to Oak Island, New Jersey.