(The Associated Press circulated the following article on May 24.)
ARGONIA, Kan. — A Burlington Northern Sante Fe train jumped the tracks Sunday afternoon in Argonia, forcing the evacuation of some nearby neighborhoods because of a chemical leak.
No injuries have been reported.
Steve Forsberg, a railroad spokesman, said seven cars in a train headed from Chicago to Los Angeles derailed at 1:50 p.m. on tracks just south of Argonia, a town of about 530 people in Sumner County, about 40 miles southwest of Wichita.
Forsberg said there were 35 cars in the intermodal train, which carries truck trailers and containers. He said the seventh and 14th cars jumped the tracks but remained upright, while five others were in a pile. The cars were part of an intermodal train that carries truck trailers and containers. The cars are about three times longer than normal rail cars, he said. Two of the cars contained hazardous materials. Residents who were evacuated went to the community center and a church.
Forsberg said the cause of the derailment was unknown, and he didn’t have an estimated time for the reopening of the track.