Evacuation order lifted for Chicago suburb hours after train derailment
June 27 (UPI) -- Local authorities informed residents of a Chicago suburb it is safe to return home after a derailed freight train prompted a temporary evacuation Thursday.
The train derailed at about 10:30 a.m. CDT at 217th and Main streets in Matteson, about 30 miles south of downtown Chicago. Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation due to a possible chemical leak.
"We're going freight car to freight car to make sure," village spokesperson Sean Howard said soon after the derailment.
Mandatory evacuations were declared for all residents within a mile south and west and a quarter-mile east of where the train derailed.
Canadian National Railway told NBC News that the derailment involved about 25 cars "carrying various substances." Two cars leaked a small amount of petroleum gas, but the leaks were quickly contained.
"There is no danger to public safety," the railway said in a statement. "A precautionary evacuation was ordered but has since been lifted except for properties immediately adjacent to the site."
The evacuation order was lifted by 1:30 p.m. No injuries have been reported, and no fires have broken out due to the incident.
Matteson officials urged residents of nearby Park Forest and Richton Park to contact their local departments for instructions. Park Forest said it is monitoring the situation but has not yet issued a mandatory evacuation.
The National Transportation Safety Board told the Chicago Sun-Times it is collecting information about the incident but has not yet launched an official investigation.
