Staff
The cause of a fire on rail bridge near Ericsburg, Mn. yesterday remains under investigation.
Around 12:35 a.m., the crew of a southbound CN train reported a fire on a trestle as they rounded a corner and approached the structure, located on the CN line about 10 miles south of International Falls.
Emergency services responded to the scene and found the bridge on fire, with three cars on it.
Firefighters used boats and hoses to spray water and foam from land and the Rat Root River to extinguish the blaze.
The bridge subsequently was destroyed by the fire but the crew was not injured.
Two cars on the train, both carrying potash (a common farm fertilizer), were caught up in the bridge wreckage in the river.
The cars remained intact.
CN arrived later in the day to begin constructing a temporary bridge to remove the cars.
About half-a-dozen homes were evacuated during the fire, but residents were allowed to return by yesterday afternoon.
CN Police are on the scene and CN officials will lead the investigation into the cause of the accident, assisted by the Koochiching County Sheriff’s Office.
