DALLAS — Three crew members were missing and one was hurt Tuesday after a head-on train collision in the Texas Panhandle that caused several box cars to erupt in flames and led authorities to evacuate residents in the area.

The two BNSF Railway freight trains were on the same track when they collided near the town of Panhandle, about 25 miles northeast of Amarillo. Each train carried two crew members; one man jumped before the collision, according to BNSF.

That man was in stable condition at an Amarillo hospital, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Because the fire was still burning Tuesday night, crews had not been able to search the wreckage for the three missing crew members.

It wasn’t clear why the trains were on the same track. The rail cars were holding a variety of consumer goods, BNSF said.


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