CSX freight train derails near ECU campus

Greenville -- Two locomotives and three freight cars of a CSX train derailed near the East Carolina University campus, leading to leakage of a chemical for fertilizer.

A spokeswoman for CSX said the five cars derailed around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday on a stretch of tracks between an apartment complex and a shopping center on the east side of Greenville.

No injuries were reported.

Greenville Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Shannon Terry said the chemical is used for agricultural and industrial purposes. It posed no inhalation hazards, is not flammable or explosive and has no potential side effects. Terry also said there is no environmental hazard from the runoff and there was no danger to the drinking water.

CSX spokeswoman Melanie Cost said the cause of the derailment under investigation.