After spending Thanksgiving camped out in a school hall, evacuated Livingston residents are now going home. But the cause of the train derailment remains a mystery. Amelia Neath reports

In the small, remote town of Livingston, Kentucky, residents had been preparing their turkeys and setting their tables for Thanksgiving the following day.

The roughly 200 people had no idea that a train carrying chemicals had derailed off the tracks nearby.

In total, 16 large train cars derailed – two containing molten sulphur. The chemicals instantly caught fire and sent large clouds of smoke billowing into the air.

The atmosphere quickly filled with toxic sulphur dioxide, prompting authorities to declare an emergency and evacuate residents from their homes, sending them to shelter in hotels, lodgings, and even a local middle school.