Panhandle City Hall officials said the trains crashed shortly before 8.30am CDT/2.30pm BST along Highway 60 east of Panhandle, Texas. Images from the scene showed box cars on fire and piled atop each other.
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Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Matthew Lehner didn’t specify how many people were injured in the crash between two BNSF trains near Amarillo.
Authorities say the train wreck is depleting the city of Panhandle’s water supply. They say one employee was taken to a hospital about 9 a.m. and is being treated.
Two trains collided in Panhandle, Texas, on Tuesday morning, sparking an explosion and fire, according to officials and witnesses.
The freight trains were transporting a variety of consumer goods, Faust said.
There were four workers aboard the two trains.
Both trains were identified as belonging to BNSF, one of the largest freight railroads in North America and a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
But Joe Faust, director of public affairs for BNSF in Texas, said he needed to confirm with company officials whether the technology was being used.
“While sections of the track operated by the eastbound train involved in this accident have PTC installed and are being tested, the section of track where the incident occurred will be installed later this year”, he said in the statement. The identity of the person or the nature of the injury is not known yet.
The speed limit in that area is 70 miles per hour and Faust says it’s not clear how fast the trains were traveling.
One local resident who farms in the area, Billy Brown, said he saw the fireball erupt after the collision.
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The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of six to investigate.
