Train derails in Baltimore suburb

Fire officials said a freight train has crashed into a rubbish lorry near Baltimore, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire.

County Fire Chief John J. Hohman said in an interview with WBAL-TV that this afternoon’s crash in White Marsh caused 15 cars of the train to derail. Two of them fell on their sides.

Fire officials in a tweet advised people in at least a 20-block radius of the crash to leave the area.

The explosion sent up a thick plume of smoke that was visible for miles.

Baltimore County executive Kevin Kamenetz said the lorry driver was in serious but stable condition at a hospital. No other injuries were immediately reported.