(The Associated Press circulated the following article on October 17.)
TEXARKANA, Ark. — Crews repaired a rail line Sunday that was damaged when a railroad tank car containing a volatile chemical exploded the day before, killing a woman in her home.
The explosion occurred about 5 a.m. Saturday when two Union Pacific trains wrecked.
Fears of more explosions or a toxic cloud weren’t fulfilled, though officials evacuated hundreds of homes and 175 nursing home patients as a precaution, Texarkana Emergency Management Director Dave Hall said.
Police identified the woman killed Saturday as Pearlie Mae Marshall, 61.
The train that included the tank loaded with propylene was stopped on the southbound tracks, a federal investigator said. Another train hit the stopped train from behind.
Four of the stopped cars were knocked off the track, and the accordion effect caused the propylene car, which was 19 cars up the track, to leak and eventually explode.
Twelve people had respiratory complaints after the explosion.
Propylene is a byproduct produced in petroleum refining, and the chemical is used in plastics.