Firefighters evacuate homes after freight train derails in Texas

April 24 (UPI) -- Nearly two dozen homes in North Texas were evacuated Wednesday after a freight train carrying highly flammable ethanol derailed and caught fire in Fort Worth, authorities said.

The Union Pacific train cars went off the tracks and erupted in flames just before 1 a.m. Wednesday in the city's southeast corner. Officials said about 20 cars derailed and five were lit ablaze.

Authorities began evacuating nearby residents in nearly two dozen homes, officials said. Several train cars were heavily damaged by the flames, which burned and smoldered for several hours.

Emergency personnel said no one was injured, but several horses died when a nearby barn also caught fire.

"There will be an extensive cleanup operation," Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Mike Drivdahl said.

Authorities said a mobile command unit also caught fire, but added it was "not related to the incident."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.