Bridge Burns, Partially Collapses in Arizona: Officials

A fiery train derailment in Arizona on July 29, 2020. Courtesy of KPHO/KTVK

A bridge over a lake in Arizona partially collapsed Wednesday after a freight train derailed.

The Tempe Police Department wrote that the incident occurred at around 6:30 a.m. local time, adding that the Tempe Fire Department and its officers were dealing with a “large fire” over the Tempe Town Lake.

“Several roads are restricted near Tempe Town Lake and west of downtown Tempe,” the department wrote. “Please avoid the area.”

Photos posted by the department showed billowing smoke and fire on the bridge.

The fire department told local news outlets that some train cars were carrying lumber.

“There’s fire pouring into the lake from the middle of the bridge,” Camille Kimball, who was riding her bike under the structure, told KPHO. “It looks like a scene from hell, truly.”

Aircraft are also being directed away from the fire, said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“We are directing aircraft north or south of the incident scene to minimize aircraft-noise distraction to fire crews,” an FAA spokesman told the outlet.

The cause of the derailment is currently unknown, KNXV reported.

A Union Pacific spokesperson told the outlet that eight to 10 rail cars caught fire. Three tank cars fell onto an empty park below.

Two of the tank cars contained cyclohexanone and the third contained a type of rubber material, officials said.