Three Union Pacific crew members remain missing after two trains collided in the Oklahoma Panhandle, causing a white-hot fire that emergency crews are struggling to extinguish.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph says the fire near Goodwell is contained but was still burning Monday morning. A National Safety Transportation Board team is investigating the Sunday morning crash.
Each train carried two crew members, and officials say one conductor survived after jumping off the train. Three crew members are missing.
Randolph says firefighters from Fort Worth, Texas, were en route with fire-suppressing foam after hundreds of gallons of water failed to put out the blaze. After the fire is extinguished, crews must wait for the metal to cool before they can safely search the trains for any sign of the missing crew.
Authorities have reopened part of U.S. Highway 54 in the Oklahoma Panhandle that was closed after the trains collided near Goodwell.
Randolph says traffic is being routed into the eastbound lane of U.S. 54, which had been closed in both directions between Guymon and Texhoma. The westbound lane will remain closed until further notice.
She says drivers are encouraged to pay attention to the traffic and not the train collision to avoid any possible accidents.
A conductor of one of the trains survived.
Topics Oklahoma
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