At least one person was injured on Tuesday after two freight trains collided head-on near Panhandle, a city in the north of the Texas state.

According to local TV station ABC13, the collision, which occurred about 8:40 a.m. local time, derailed several train cars which were engulfed in flames.

Witnesses said that a fireball erupted after the collision, and thick, black smoke could be seen rising from some of the derailed cars.

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), headquartered in the northern Texas city of Fort Worth, confirmed that four railway employees were involved in the accident, and the injured employee was sent to a local hospital for medical treatment and rescue efforts are underway with respect to the three other railroad employees involved in the accident.

Nearby residents have been ordered to evacuate for their safety due to shifting winds near the area of the collision.

The cause of the accident is not clear so far, but investigators from the Federal Railroad Administration are at the scene to investigate the collision.

The company is one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America.
Source:XINHUA