Train cars containing thousands of gallons of ethanol exploded Friday night in Rockford, Illinois killing one person and injuring nine others.

The rail cars derailed at 9:00 p.m. killing a woman who was in a vehicle waiting at the train crossing, Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said, according to the Rockford Register Star today. Nine people were injured including two seriously, the paper said.

Coleen Mork, a witness said the cars began bumping each other like falling dominoes. "It was really extreme heat,' Mork said, according to the paper.

Eighteen cars were derailed from the Canadian National Railway freight train but the cause is unknown, the Associated Press said today. On Saturday five tanks were still burning. Officials said they would wait for the fire to burn out by itself because of the danger, according to the news agency.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the area, according to the Associated Press.

Explosion