AP, Arkanas :
Two Union Pacific train crew members were killed and two others were injured when two freight trains collided head-on in northeast Arkansas early Sunday, Arkansas State Police said.
The collision happened about 3 a.m. in Hoxie, a small town about 90 miles northwest of Memphis, Tennessee. A resulting fire took about seven hours to extinguish, according to Union Pacific spokesman Brandon Morris.
Authorities asked about 500 people within 1½ miles of the collision to leave their homes following the crash because of the fire, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office said. Most were allowed to return home by midmorning Sunday, according to county Emergency Management Director Buddy Williams.
“The fire involved diesel and also there was a tank car that ruptured and it contained an (unknown) alcoholic beverage,” Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Kendell Snyder said. He said there were no other leaks.
