A freight train derailed and caught fire while partially collapsing a bridge in Arizona on Wednesday.
The police said on Twitter that the incident happened just before 6:30am in Tempe, located east of Phoenix, and that fire department responded on the scene where the train derailed.
“Several roads are restricted near Tempe Town Lake and west of downtown Tempe,” the Tempe Police Department said, “Please avoid the area.”
According to the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue, multiple train cars caught fire, in which some are carrying lumber.
The authorities said that it is not yet clear what the train was carrying, and that no injuries were reported due to the derailment and subsequent fire.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Sylvia Moir discouraged people to go near the scene as it is “very dangerous.”
A witness, Camille Kimball, was riding her bike under the bridge before it collapsed, and said she heard an extremely loud noise as she came off the bridge.
“I turned around to look and got the fright of my life,” she said in an interview.
“Now there’s fire pouring into the lake from the middle of the bridge. … It’ looks like a scene from hell, truly. A scene from hell. … The flames are intense and the sky is filled with black smoke.”
Valley Metro, the light rail system operator in the Phoenix area, announced that Valley Metro trains are not to cross the Tempe Town Lake Bridge due to the incident involving the freight train.
The authorities are arranging buses to transport passengers through the area.
The 2.5-mile man-made lake is a go to recreation spot for jogging, cycling, and boating and is located near the Arizona State University.
Earlier this week, Tempe hit the headlines when around 200 people gathered to protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement turned violent, when demonstrators clashed with police in the middle of a roadway.