This aerial photo shows derailed train cars burning in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. A series of recent derailments in North America have worried both officials and residents close to rail lines. On Dec. 30, an oil train derailed and exploded in North Dakota, causing the evacuation of a nearby town but no injuries. In July, 47 people were killed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, when a train carrying crude oil derailed. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Tom Bateman)
Officials in Canada said a derailed freight train carrying crude oil and propane continued to burn Wednesday (Jan. 8), and about 150 residents remained evacuated from their homes. There were no deaths or injuries.
Of the 17 cars that derailed late Tuesday in New Brunswick province, five contain crude oil and four contain liquefied petroleum gas, officials said. Later Wednesday, the Canadian National Railway said two of the cars carrying liquefied petroleum gas and one car carrying crude oil were on fire.
The derailment in a sparsely populated region, roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the U.S. border and northern Maine, again raised concerns about the increasing use of rail to transport oil throughout North America.