国际英语新闻:Train derailment spills chemical, closes highway in Texas

HOUSTON, June 23 (Xinhua) -- A freight train derailed near a highway in the U.S. state of Texas Monday, shutting down a stretch of the highway as crews respond to a chemical spill, local media reported.

The Union Pacific train, en route from Houston to Fort Worth in Texas, went off track on Monday morning near a state highway in Navasota, about 100 km northwest of Houston, local radio WTAW reported.

At least one out of the eight derailed train cars leaked diethanolamine, a chemical used in natural gas processing. The chemical was corrosive, but not toxic, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper on the scene.

A segment of the highway was shut down as crews are busy cleaning up the spill. Traffic on the highway is being diverted to alternate routes. No one was hurt in the incident.

It is not immediately known what caused the derailment.

A day earlier, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed near a city street in Blytheville, Arkansas, snarling traffic on several blocks. No injuries or spill was reported in that incident.