Thirteen cars of a freight train, five carrying methanol among them, derailed in central Texas on Saturday, the Texas Department of Public Safety and BNSF Railway said.
Some methanol was leaking from two cars, but there were no fires or injuries to people on the train, said Trooper D.L. Wilson, spokesman for the Waco district office of the Department of Public Safety.
Hazardous materials crews are on the scene and working to offload the methanol from the tankers, Wilson said.
It was a 70-car train, said Joe Faust, spokesman for BNSF Railway.
The accident happened two miles north of Valley Mills, Texas, a town about halfway between Dallas and Austin. About 10 families in the rural area were evacuated from homes near the accident, Wilson said.
Methanol is a toxic chemical used as a solvent and a fuel.
The cause of the accident was being investigated, Wilson said, adding that it was too early to pinpoint either heavy rainfall or a mechanical issue.