Mail OnlineTwo Union Pacific train crew members were killed and two others were injured when two freight trains carrying toxic chemicals collided head-on in northeast Arkansas early Sunday.
The collision happened about 3 a.m. in Hoxie, a small town about 90 miles northwest of Memphis, Tennessee. A resulting fire took about seven hours to extinguish, according to Union Pacific spokesman Brandon Morris.
‘A fire involving one of the train engines was reported still burning at daybreak, however it is not believed to be threatening any of the toxic cargo, Arkansas state police said in a statement.
Authorities asked about 500 people within 1½ miles of the collision to leave their homes following the crash because of the fire, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office said.
Emergency personnel work at the site of a head-on collision between two Union Pacific trains in Arkansas, which left two crew members dead and another two injured
The trains’ freight, which included toxic chemicals, forced emergency personnel to evacuate some 500 homes around the scene of the crash
Investigators remain at the scene of the crash. It is still unclear what caused the accident
Most were allowed to return home by midmorning Sunday, according to county Emergency Management Director Buddy Williams.
‘The fire involved diesel and also there was a tank car that ruptured and it contained an (unknown) alcoholic beverage,’ Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Kendell Snyder said. He said there were no other leaks.
‘We don’t know the cause of the accident. We have no idea why these trains were on the same line,’ Williams said, noting no local residents were hurt.
It’s at least the second head-on collision involving UP trains since 2012, when two collided in the Oklahoma Panhandle that June, which killed three crew members and injured a fourth.
The names of those killed and injured on Sunday were not immediately released by Union Pacific.
‘We’re still conducting an investigation, we haven’t made any notifications,’ Morris said.
He did not know where the trains had originated or where they were headed.
It was not immediately known how many cars the two trains were pulling, Morris said, but he said there were no other cars leaking any materials.
It was not immediately known how many cars the two trains were pulling, but there were no other cars leaking any materials
Firefighters battled the flames for seven hours to extinguish the early-morning blaze
Morris said the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified and will take over the investigation.
U.S. highways 67 and 63, main arteries through Hoxie and the adjacent town of Walnut Ridge, were closed for several hours Sunday.
Highway 67 at the intersection with U.S. Highway 230 will likely remain closed for up to three days while the wreckage is removed, Arkansas State Police said.
This is the at least the second head-on collision involving UP trains since 2012, when two collided in the Oklahoma Panhandle, killing three crew members and injuring a fourth
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2727214/2-dead-2-hurt-Arkansas-freight-train-collision.html#ixzz3AiKnRUrk
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“‘We don’t know the cause of the accident. We have no idea why these trains were on the same line,’ Williams said, noting no local residents were hurt.”
Someone knows.
yes, Hatr… the Grateful Dead knows…. “switch man sleeping, train hundred and two, is on the wrong track and headed for you”
That’s what causes head-on collisions. Trains travel in two directions on the same track because a switch man is supposed to move one of them onto a layover track while the other passes.
These days they probably use automated switching systems, which didn’t work today.
it’s handy that it happened in a location where there is road access from the right!!!!!
interesting how they are all piled up like that too.
pretty unusual.
Gotta love these train epidemics. Never heard of so many trains derailing in the 80’s and 90’s and early 2000’s. Now all of a sudden, it’s like no one knows how to operate a train. Don’t worry, our Communist Core education system will fix all of that.
1 train coming from one direction + 1 train coming from the opposite direction on the same track = 1 VERY long train, NOT two.
Trust me, it’s right because it makes me feel good. 😉