3 trains collide near school outside Amarillo, Texas.
AMARILLO (September 25, 2013)--Three freight trains have collided in the Texas Panhandle, derailing up to 30 cars and leaving four crewmembers hurt including two with critical injuries.The Department of Public Safety says the accident happened before dawn Wednesday just east of Amarillo.
Sr. Trooper Chris Ray says an eastbound train rear-ended a stopped train, and that a westbound train then collided with the two-train wreck.
BNSF Railway spokesman Joe Faust says two crewmembers on the first train have non-life threatening injuries and that two from the second train are critically hurt.
Faust says the trains were hauling flatbed cars carrying truck trailers and that no hazardous materials spilled.
Authorities are trying to determine what caused the accident.
Three freight trains collided in a rural area outside Amarillo, Texas early Wednesday, leaving four people injured, two of them critically, reports CBS Amarillo station KFDA-TV, citing Potter County Rescue and Amarillo Emergency Management.
The collision occurred across the street from a school, but it will be in session Wednesday, the station says.
All three were Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains.
One engine was on its side. Power lines were down and on some of the trains' cars.
Authorities were checking for fuel leaks.
It wasn't clear what the trains were carrying, but none of the cargo was hazardous, authorities said.
No evacuations were ordered.
The cause of the collision was under investigation.
Dozens of cars derail when 3 freight trains collide in Texas Panhandle, 4 crewmembers hurt.
Three freight trains collided in the Texas Panhandle before dawn Wednesday, derailing up to 30 cars and injuring four crewmembers, including two critically.
An eastbound BNSF Railway train rear-ended a stopped train, then moments later a westbound train collided with the two-train wreck, just east of Amarillo, according to the Department of Public Safety. The accident was reported shortly after 4:30 a.m.
"The wreckage was mangled up," said Sr. Trooper Chris Ray.
Joe Faust, a spokesman for Fort Worth-based BNSF, said no hazardous material spilled and that the trains were hauling flatbed cars carrying truck trailers.
The cause of the accident was under investigation, Faust said.
Two workers on the first train suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Two crewmembers on the second train were critically injured and transported to an Amarillo hospital, Faust said. Names of the workers and details of their injuries were not immediately released.
Preliminary estimates indicate between 20 and 30 cars derailed, Faust said. Rail traffic was being rerouted and heavy equipment would be used to clear the tracks, he said.
Faust said there was no immediate timetable for clearing the tracks.
No nearby residents were in danger due to the accident.
Three Freight Trains Collide In Texas; Four Crew Members Injured.
Three freight trains collided early Wednesday in the Texas Panhandle, leaving four crew members injured, two critically.
About 30 cars derailed in the crash.
The Department of Public Safety said the accident happened before dawn Wednesday just east of Amarillo, where an eastbound train rear-ended a stopped train, and then a westbound train collided with the two-train wreck, Senior Trooper Chris Ray said.
BNSF Railway spokesman Joe Faust says two crew members on the first train suffered non-life threatening injuries and that two from the second train are critically hurt.
Faust says the trains were hauling flatbed cars carrying truck trailers and that no hazardous materials spilled.
Authorities are trying to determine what caused the accident.
