Freight trains collide in San Antonio, spilling magnesium chloride

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ Two freight trains collided south of San Antonio, derailing 27 cars and spilling magnesium chloride. <br/><br/>Magnesium chloride is neither flammable nor toxic, said Randy Jenkins,

Saturday, September 25th 2004, 10:59 am

By: News On 6

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ Two freight trains collided south of San Antonio, derailing 27 cars and spilling magnesium chloride.

Magnesium chloride is neither flammable nor toxic, said Randy Jenkins, district chief of the San Antonio Fire Department. Only one car spilled, and none spilled into the San Antonio River.

``We're not looking at a major environmental concern, and we're not looking at any health hazards,'' he told the San Antonio Express-News.

The Burlington Northern Sante Fe and Union Pacific trains collided about 11 p.m. Friday, the third train derailment in the city this year.

There were no reported injuries and no one was evacuated from their homes.

One railcar rammed into a lumberyard building without causing a fire. Another brought down power lines and transformers, causing electricity to go out in parts of the city.

Jenkins said it might take days to clean up what he called the ``large mess of jumbled rail cars.''