Two crew members of a Union Pacific train were rescued early Saturday after the train overturned when high water washed away the tracks in Navarro County, the office of emergency management said.
A high-water rescue team pulled the uninjured men from the water, according to the Navarro County Office of Emergency Management.
Train Overturns, Partially Submerged After Hitting High Water, Crew Rescued
Union Pacific spokesman Jeff DeGraff said the derailment happened at about 3:30 a.m. in an area four miles north of Corsicana, about 60 miles south of Dallas. DeGraff said Chambers Creek was overflowing and washed out the tracks.
He said one locomotive and several rail cars, hauling loose gravel, went into the water and were partly submerged. DeGraff said both crewmembers on board "swam to high ground" and were rescued by emergency responders. Nobody was hurt.
DeGraff said the 64-car train was traveling south from Midlothian to Houston. He had no immediate details on how many cars went off the tracks since the flooded area was not accessible to cleanup crews.
The train is not expected to be righted and returned to the tracks until the water recedes and heavy equipment can be brought to the area. A timetable for when that may happen has not been determined.
Both directions of Interstate 45 were closed Friday night near Corsicana due to high water. The southbound lanes reopened Friday at about 10 p.m. and the northbound lanes reopened Saturday morning.
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The National Weather Service said Saturday morning that 18.07 inches of rain had been recorded in Corsicana since Thursday evening.
