The scene on Tuesday after a freight train crashed into a rubbish truck, derailed and then caught fire in a suburb of the US city of Baltimore. The crash set off an explosion that shook homes 800 metres away and sent an enormous plume of smoke in the sky.

It was the country's third serious derailment this month, with a dozen or more wagons, at least one carrying a hazardous material, going off the tracks.

A hazardous materials team responded to the train crash, but officials said no toxic inhalants were released. They did not order an evacuation. Photo: AP