2 rail cars tumble into lake in train derailment

By The Associated Press

MAMMOTH SPRING — Officials say a train derailment in Mammoth Spring State Park has sent two cars into the lake there, shutting the park for the day.

Park superintendent Dave Jackson says the derailment happened after 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, when 13 cars from a northbound train came unhitched and began rolling back south. Jackson says those cars collided with another northbound train, causing the derailment.

Joe Faust, a spokesman for BNSF Railway, says a locomotive engineer suffered a minor injury in the crash.

Jackson says hazardous materials teams working for Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF were at the site Tuesday morning, cleaning up. Jackson says at least one train car carried fertilizer pellets.

Faust says 18 cars derailed in the crash. He says most of the cars were empty, though one contained fiberboard.

Faust says the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The railroad line runs through the park, which sits along Arkansas' border with Missouri.