Part of BNSF South Dakota track out of service after derailment

[September 21, 2015]  (Reuters) - Part of BNSF Railway's main track in rural South Dakota was out of service on Sunday, with no estimate of when it would reopen, after seven cars of a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early Saturday, the company said.

The 98-car train derailed on Saturday near the town of Lesterville, starting a fire and forcing detours on the company's main track. No injuries or damage to nearby structures have been reported.

Three of the cars were involved in the fire, and BNSF and local emergency officials were responding to the scene, BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said in an email on Sunday.

BNSF said in a statement Saturday afternoon that the fire was extinguished.

BNSF is a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N>

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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