Train Explosion Kills 1

A train car transporting flammable gas derailed in a switchyard and exploded in a ball of fire Saturday, killing one person and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes.

A plume of smoke covered the south end of the city, and at least seven people went to hospital emergency rooms with respiratory problems.

Two homes were destroyed -- including one in which the victim died -- and several vehicles were totaled in the quarter-mile area surrounding the accident, police spokesman Chris Rankin said. A 209-foot-long railroad bridge also caught fire and was destroyed, a Union Pacific spokesman said.

The propylene tank was still burning Saturday evening, but the fire was under control and the smoke had thinned out, Rankin said.

Union Pacific officials planned to let the tank burn out and estimated it would take until early this morning.

A Union Pacific train coming from Chicago hit the back of another freight train in the rail yard, causing the eight cars to derail, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said.