On Wednesday, a train carrying crude oil derailed and crashed in downtown Lynchburg, Va., prompting an immediate evacuation of hundreds of people.

City officials announced that the train that derailed and caught fire belongs to CSX Corp, reports Reuters. According to reports, the explosive crash occurred around 2 p.m. EDT near The Depot Grille, in a region where environmental activists have raised concerns about the dangers of oil trains.

Authorities said that over 300 people have been evacuated following the accident due to the billowing smoke and fire. Officials from the Lynchburg police and fire department at the scene are advising residents to stay out of the downtown area, reports the New York Daily News. It was not immediately clear if there are any injuries.

JoAnn Martin, the director of communications for the city, announced that of 13 or 14 tanker cars involved in the crash, three or four tanker cars are leaking. She added that the accident occurred near the waterfront and some crude oil is leaking into the James River, which connects to the Chesapeake Bay.

"The fire department is watching it, assessing it, but it's pretty much burning itself out," Martin said, reports Politico.

A few weeks ago, environmentalists and other activists spoke out against the region's burgeoning role as a corridor for oil-carrying trains to a new storage and shipping hub in Yorktown.

"These trains are traveling through Lynchburg along the James River through Richmond and on to the York County facility on the York River," Sierra Club activist Glen Besa told The Virginia Gazette newspaper. "We're concerned that a train derailment could result in an explosion and the loss of life, or an oil spill that could jeopardize our drinking water supplies and the environment," he added.