Search For Crew After Trains Collide Head-On

Emergency personnel are searching for three crew members missing in the wreckage of a two-train collision in West Texas, authorities say.

The two BNSF Railway freight trains collided on Tuesday morning near the town of Panhandle, about 25 miles (40km) northeast of Amarillo.

A BNSF spokesman said four employees - two on each train - were involved in the crash.

Joe Faust said one of the workers jumped before the trains collided, and was being treated at hospital.

An update on the man's condition was not immediately available.

Several box cars derailed and became engulfed in flames after the crash.

Billy Brown, a farmer who lives in the area, told the AP news agency he saw a fireball erupt after the collision occurred.

Other witnesses told KFDA-TV they heard screeching and the ground shook when the trains collided.

Mr Faust said it was not immediately clear how fast the trains were travelling, but the speed limit for that stretch of track is 70mph (112kph).

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.