Belgium Train Fire, Explosions Kill 1 Near Ghent (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
WATCH: Massive Train Fire
The Huffington Post Canada
Dramatic video footage shows a huge freight train in flames after it crashed and the toxic chemicals inside caught fire in Belgium Saturday.
The crash and fire killed one person and injured 49 after the train, which was carrying toxic chemicals, derailed and caught fire near the Belgian city of Ghent.
In the amateur video posted above, taken by a local man from his bedroom window, flames and plumes of smoke can be seen coming from the derailed train cars.
Story continues below slideshow.
Belgium Train Fire
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Firemen work next to a train on fire on a track near Schellebelle, 20 kms east of Gent on May 4, 2013. Belgian authorities on May 4 evacuated nearly 300 people from their homes after several cars of a train carrying chemicals derailed, causing a major fire near the city of Gent. Nobody was hurt in the accident which happened around 2:00 am (0000 GMT) between the towns of Schellebelle and Wetteren, said Infrabel, the entity responsible for the Belgian railway network. (credit:NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images)
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Part of a derailed freight train is pictured in Wetteren, Belgium, Sunday, May 5, 2013. Local media said that hundreds of people were evacuated after the train carrying chemicals derailed and caught fire Saturday. (credit:AP Photo/Yves Logghe)
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Aerial picture taken on May 4, 2013 of an exploded freight train on a track near Schellebelle, 20 kms east of Ghent on May 4, 2013. (credit:BENOIT DOPPAGNE/AFP/Getty Images)
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Aerial picture taken on May 4, 2013 of an exploded freight train on a track near Schellebelle, 20 kms east of Ghent on May 4, 2013. (credit:BENOIT DOPPAGNE/AFP/Getty Images)
(05 of08)
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A picture taken on May 6, 2013 shows the wreckage of a train in Wetteren. A freight train derailed on May 4, 2013 at night and exploded on a track near Schellebelle. The train contained the chemical product acrylonitrile, a toxic and inflammable fluid that can cause breathing problems. Emergency services evacuated some 500 residents. One local resident died and 49 persons were brought to the hospital. (credit:BENOIT DOPPAGNE/AFP/Getty Images)
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(credit:BENOIT DOPPAGNE/AFP/Getty Images)
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Part of a derailed freight train is pictured in Wetteren, Belgium, Sunday, May 5, 2013. Local media said that hundreds of people were evacuated after the train carrying chemicals derailed and caught fire Saturday. (credit:AP Photo/Yves Logghe)
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Amateur video footage taken by a local man shows flames and smoke erupting from the crashed freight train. (credit: Source: YouTube)
Agence France-Presse reported that the fire caused several of the train cars to explode and a stretch of flames that spread over several hundred metres that caused authorities to evacuate more than 300 people living nearby.
Residents within a 1,000-metre radius were advised by authorities, to keep their windows closed, according to local newspaper Het Laatste Niews.
Officials were in the town of Wetteren Monday testing air quality for any toxic chemicals released by the train fire, UPI reports.
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Aerial picture taken on May 4 of an exploded freight train on a track near Schellebelle, 20 kilometres east of Ghent (BENOIT DOPPAGNE/AFP/Getty Images)
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