LUPTON, Ariz. – A freight train carrying fuel derailed and caught fire Friday near the Arizona-New Mexico state line, forcing the closure of an interstate highway that serves as a key truck route.

Early passersby posted videos and photos on social media of crumpled train cars and billowing black smoke.

No injuries were reported in the midday train crash near Lupton, Arizona. BNSF Railway spokeswoman Lena Kent said company personnel were on site working to remove debris. Kent said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

Interstate 40 was closed by authorities in both directions in the area early in the afternoon, diverting trucks and motorists from the highway to alternative routes, New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety announced. Arizona.

The train was carrying non-odorous propane and gasoline, and a half-dozen cars caught fire and burned for hours after the derailment, New Mexico State Police Lt. Phil Vargas said.

“It seems like they’re just letting those (railroad) cars burn on their own,” Vargas said.

Nearby residences and a truck stop were evacuated as a precaution as winds carried thick smoke and local fire crews responded. The derailment also led Amtrak to cancel some passenger trips, including on the route between Los Angeles and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Traffic on I-40 was backed up for more than 10 miles, although detours were opened on two-lane roads and highways, said Kristine Bustos-Mihelcic, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The agency warned Friday night of an extended highway closure that would increase traffic on other interstates, including I-25 and I-10.

The Arizona Corporation Commission that oversees rail safety said in a social media post on X that 10 cars were involved in the derailment and that two were carrying liquid petroleum. The agency said it planned to send a railroad inspector to the scene, but later learned that the derailment occurred on the New Mexico side of the tracks.