Crews on scene of derailment overnight

Windham, Conn. (WTNH) - Cleanup continued Thursday night after four tanker cars carrying ethanol derailed near Route 203 in Windham early in the morning.

According to state police, cars carrying ethanol cars jumped the track and went down an embankment around 2:00 a.m. 75,000 gallons of ethanol spilled when the cars rolled down the embankment.

"Initially we evaluated the tankers to be sure they were not leaking, which proved to be the case. After that given the hazards of ethanol being a flammable liquid, started bringing in additional resources to that were going to need to keep any potential accidents from happening during the pumping process," said Code Enforcement Officer Matt Vertefuille.

Police and railroad officials said there was no danger to the public, but firefighters cleared an area of one thousand feet around the site for a safety zone as well as an environmentally safe zone.

"It's both environmental and fire risk. Obviously you don't want that kind of spill, but where the train rolled over is actually adjacent to the Shetucket River so there is a concern of contamination to the river as well," said Jeff Chandler from The Department of Environmental Protection.

Marie Angelini, spokeswoman for Providence & Worcester Railroad , says the four cars were at the end of an 80-car train that was headed from North Dakota to Providence, RI. 

The derailment happened in a non-residential area so there is no danger to anyone, police said.

Angelini said none of the tanks appears to have ruptured. The rest of the train kept on going.

Railroad crews are on the scene and waiting for heavy equipment to come in and get the cars upright. Pumper trucks have arrived to begin removing the flammable liquid from the site. The site is expected to be cleared sometime Thursday night.