Train derails in Texas, leaving dead and injured

Two Union Pacific employees were killed and three others were injured when a freight train collided with a tractor and derailed in a small West Texas town, the news agency reported. Associated Press.

Photo: Petr Hos | Dreamstime.com

The train derailed around 5 p.m. Dec. 18 in Pecos after colliding at a railroad crossing, authorities said. Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific said Dec. 19 that two of its employees were killed. Pecos Police Chief Lisa Tarango said the others suffered minor injuries.

Although the train was carrying hazardous materials such as lithium-ion batteries and airbags, the cargo was intact when it derailed, city officials said. The diesel fuel leak was contained.

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The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate the incident. In a statement Dec. 19, the board said it would release its findings when it completes its investigation.

Ronald Lee, Reeves County Emergency Services director, said some of the victims were in the Chamber of Commerce building, which was damaged when the train derailed.

He said the damage to the building was "significant enough" that officials had advised against entering until it had been inspected by an engineer.

Rail safety has been in the spotlight since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in early 2023, spilling and igniting a cocktail of toxic chemicals. Regulators have called on the industry to improve safety, and members of Congress have proposed a reform package, but railroads have failed to make significant changes, and the legislation has stalled.

Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the derailment was "a reminder that much more needs to be done to make rail travel safer."

He said the derailment "should serve as a wake-up call for lawmakers to improve rail safety."

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Photos from the Pecos derailment show the train was carrying metal shipping containers stacked two high.

Pecos, with a population of about 13, is located about 000 miles east of El Paso.

Tarango's police chief said cleanup efforts at the site of the crash had begun.

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