Fire extinguished after train derailment sparks chemical spill in Kentucky

A major fire caused by a train derailment in the U.S. state of Kentucky was extinguished on Thursday afternoon, a day after the incident led to the spilling of molten sulfur, train operator CSX said.

Two of the 16 cars that derailed carried molten sulfur, which caught fire after the cars were breached. It's believed that the fire released the potentially harmful gas sulfur dioxide, but officials have not released results of measurements taken from air monitoring equipment.

The train derailed around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday near Livingston, a remote town with about 200 people in Rockcastle County. Kentucky Governor declared a state of emergency after the train derailment and residents were encouraged to evacuate.

 According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory problems, depending on the concentration and length of exposure.