NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Investigators have released new details about a train that derailed near the New Mexico-Arizona state line last month. About 35 railcars derailed from the tracks near Manuelito, New Mexico. Six of those railcars contained 30,000 gallons of propane.
Upon impact, the flammable railcars caught fire causing the local fire department to issue a two-mile evacuation closing off I-40 in both directions. The fire department says the fire forced the evacuation of 52 people.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the train was traveling about 53 miles per hour at the time of the derailment. The NTSB and the Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the exact cause.
