• The first train - carrying 112 cars of soybeans - derailed at around 2pm
  • A second train carrying 106 cars of oil struck multiple cars of the first derailed train
  • Multiple explosions sent flames and toxic clouds hundreds of feet in the air
  • North Dakota town of Casselton evacuated
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Bone-rattling: A massive fireball from an exploding train car rises into the air just west of Casselton
A train derailed Monday afternoon and burst into flames after being hit by another train just outside the North Dakota town of Casselton - which authorities have now ordered to be fully evacuated.

As many as a dozen train cars carrying the highly flammable cargo jumped the tracks at around 2pm before the second train filled with oil barreled into them, causing multiple massive explosions.

The toxic plume of flames and smoke has led officials to have the entire town evacuated. Casselton is a suburban town about 25 miles west of Fargo and has a population of about 2,500 people.

The first train that derailed was carrying soybeans, the train that struck it was carrying crude oil, Joseph Faust, a spokesperson for Burlington Northern Santa Fe - which operates both trains - told MailOnline.

The first train was traveling westbound away from Casselton, a western suburb of Fargo, when it jumped the tracks, Mr Faust explained. The second eastbound train plowed into it a short time later, resulting in an explosion and fire, but that was only the beginning.

There were at least two more explosions, sending a mushroom cloud of bright orange flames hundreds of feet into the air, according to eyewitness accounts.

About 21 cars burned Monday night at the height of the blaze, BNSF said in a statement sent to MailOnline.

The remainder of the cars not on fire have already been towed from the scene, the statement added.

BNSf confirmed that no injuries occurred as a result of the double derailment.

Mr Faust declined to say how many cars each train had, but Valley News Live reported the crude oil train was at least 111 cars long.

The evacuation order was handed down by the Cass county Sheriff's Office and first reported by Valley News Live. BNSF was unaware of the order, and sounded taken aback by it when questioned about it by MailOnline.

Temperatures are expected to drop to about minus-20 degrees Fahrenheit this evening across the region, Mr Faust noted - which makes the ordeal even tougher for local residents.

Authorities are evacuating the rural town in expectation of winds shifting and sending the toxic smoke straight for Casselton, Valley News Live noted.

A Valley News Live reporter tweeted that even from a far distance away, she could feel the heat on her face.

Thick black smoke pushed even higher, and could be seen for miles, multiple train cars filled with oil began burning.