(The Associated Press circulated the following article on May 29.)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Two trains hauling tanks with sulfuric acid and flammable liquids collided head-on Saturday but didn’t spill hazardous material, authorities said.
Four people aboard the two Union Pacific trains jumped off before the collision, which derailed four cars that were either empty or carrying sand, said San Antonio District Fire Chief Randy Jenkins.
The tanks carrying the liquids, which included chlorine, didn’t leak and remained on the track.
A conductor and engineer were aboard each train. Three had non-life threatening injuries and the fourth was unharmed, Jenkins said.
One train was headed east from El Paso to San Antonio and the other was traveling west from San Antonio when the collision happened around 6:15 p.m.
It’s unclear how fast the trains were traveling or why they crashed into each other, Jenkins said.
A spokesman for Union Pacific did not immediately return calls to The Associated Press.