GALLUP, N.M. -- New Mexico police have closed about five blocks of U.S. Highway 66 after five cars of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train derailed Monday.Slideshow: Fire Rescue Rushes To Derailment Scene Five cars carrying ethanol, a flammable liquid, left the tracks at the Gallup Rail Yard. The cars came off the tracks but did not overturn.
When state police officers inspected the scene, they discovered two of the cars were leaking ethanol, though at this time, how much fuel spilled is unknown. Ethanol is a clear liquid produced from crops such as corn, wheat, sugar, and other agricultural feed. It is used as a clean, high-octane, high-performance fuel for vehicles and it can be highly flammable.Police plan to unload the remaining ethanol cars as a safety precaution and will pump the liquid from the cars into tankers.Personnel at the rail yard are the only people to be evacuated so far, and there have been no injuries reported.Several roads were closed along U.S. 66 following the derailment. A Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway spokesperson said the train was bound for Barstow, Calif., from Denver when it derailed.
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Slideshow: Fire Rescue Rushes To Derailment Scene Five cars carrying ethanol, a flammable liquid, left the tracks at the Gallup Rail Yard. The cars came off the tracks but did not overturn. 
