DALLAS (AP) – Three crew members were missing and one was hurt after a head-on train collision in the Texas Panhandle that caused several box cars to erupt in flames and led authorities to evacuate residents in the area.
The two BNSF Railway freight trains were on the same track when they collided Tuesday near the town of Panhandle, about 25 miles northeast of Amarillo. Each train carried two crew members; one man jumped before the collision, according to BNSF spokesman Joe Faust.
That man was in stable condition at an Amarillo hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, said Sgt. Dan Buesing of the Texas Department of Public Safety. His identity wasn’t available. Because the fire was still burning Tuesday night, crews had not been able to search the wreckage for the three missing crew members, Buesing said, adding that crews are still pouring water on the fire.
Freight cars and containers were derailed and strewn for about 400 yards from the collision site, Buesing said. As nightfall approached, floodlights were being brought in as efforts to quell the flames and search for the missing crew members was expected to continue well into the night, he said.
It’s not clear how fast the trains were traveling when they collided, but the speed limit in that area is 70 mph, Faust said. It also wasn’t clear why the trains were on the same track. The rail cars were holding a variety of consumer goods, Faust said.