(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Melanie S. Welte on June 25.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — A railroad bridge collapsed into the flooded Iowa River, dropping a locomotive and two tanker cars into the water, authorities said Wednesday.
Three employees of the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad were on the train and one of them was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, company spokesman Herb Jones said.
The Louisa County sheriff’s office said the railroad called late Tuesday to report the collapse near Columbus Junction in southeastern Iowa.
Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Steve Kulm said Wednesday he did not know if the flooding was a factor in the collapse.
Columbus Junction, population 2,000, suffered record flooding last week because it sits downstream from the confluence of the Iowa and Cedars rivers, which both caused widespread flooding. A levee broke and water 10 feet deep flooded the town’s medical center, pharmacy, day-care, senior center, a hotel and a dozen other businesses.
Kulm said the locomotive was pulling four tanker cars off the bridge when the span occurred. The tanker cars were loaded with water and had been parked on the bridge to give it added weight during the flooding, he said.
Two of the tanker cars went into the river with the locomotive, Jones said.
Kulm said the bridge is owned by Iowa Beef Packers, which is now owned by Tyson Foods, Inc.
He said Iowa Beef Packers has a contractor that conducts official inspections of the span. IC&E also looks at the bridge “from time to time, but they are not responsible for inspections,” Kulm said.
Tyson Foods, which has a meatpacking plant in Columbus Junction, said it would issue a statement later.
Iowa Homeland Security spokesman Brett Voorhees said the bridge would be inspected after the water recedes.
Representatives of the Federal Railroad Administration are en route to investigate.