Five dead in Illinois crash involving semi-truck carrying ammonia, residents cannot return home yet

At least five people were killed and parts of an Illinois neighborhood were evacuated due to a Friday crash involving a semi-truck carrying thousands of gallons of anhydrous ammonia.

The truck was carrying about 7,500 gallons of the toxic substance at the time of the wreck in Effingham County, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The agency said early estimates say more than half of that - about 4,000 gallons - were released.

The leak has been "partially patched" and approximately 500 people have been evacuated from the area, according to the state EPA. In addition to the deaths, there have also been multiple injuries.

Parts of Teutopolis, a village in south-central Illinois, were evacuated "due to the plume from the ammonia leak" after the crash Friday night on US Highway 40, about a half mile east of Teutopolis, Illinois State Police said.

Emergency crews were still on scene and working to contain the leak Saturday afternoon, according to the state's EPA.

Just before 5 p.m. a separate crash had taken place on Interstate 70 just east of Effingham, which caused traffic to be rerouted to US Highway 40.

At about 9:25 p.m. local time, authorities were notified about a crash on the highway "involving multiple vehicles, including a semi-truck that is leaking anhydrous ammonia," police said.