Residents evacuated after train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derails

Homes in a half-mile area around the site were evacuated, with residents taken to a shelter in nearby Prinsburg.

Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a train derailment in Raymond, Minnesota (KSTP via AP)

A train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in Minnesota – with nearby residents told to evacuate their homes, US authorities have said.

The BNSF train derailed in the town of Raymond, about 100 miles west of Minneapolis, at about 1am on Thursday, Kandiyohi County sheriff Eric Tollefson said in a statement.