Train Carrying Hazardous Materials Derails, Bridge Collapses into Montana River

A train carrying hazardous materials derailed and a bridge collapsed into a southern Montana river Saturday, sending rail cars into the water and prompting concerns about contamination.

Some of those fears may have been allayed by evening as rail officials said two cars known to be carrying sodium hydro sulfate, which can burn, irritate and cause shortness of breath, had not entered the Yellowstone River below the failed bridge that used to span the waterway.

There was no release of hazardous materials from those particular rail cars, said Andy Garland, spokesperson for Montana Rail Link.

But an unspecified number of other cars containing molten sulfur and asphalt had been “compromised,” he said in a statement.

Officials would continue to monitor the derailment site, he said.

No injuries were reported, officials said.