Fiery Ill. train derailment kills one

ROCKFORD, Ill., June 20 (UPI) -- Fire officials near Rockford, Ill., said Saturday they were waiting for flames from burning ethanol tanker cars to diminish to probe a fatal train derailment.

Rockton, Ill., Fire Chief Kirk Wilson said efforts to investigate in incident, in which one person was killed and two others were injured, would begin after firefighters were able to put out the flames, the Rockford Register Star reported.

The derailment involved three motorists who were stopped at a train crossing, although it wasn't clear if their car was on the tracks, officials said. Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten told CNN it appeared one of the victims who tried to run from the scene suffered second-degree burns on his hand while trying to shield his neck from flames.

Witnesses told the Register Star the 114-car Canadian National Railway train derailed about 8:30 p.m. Friday when the cars started hydroplaning in standing water. Two ethanol-carrying tank cars left the tracks and exploded, sending a fireball high over the treetops and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of nearby homes, the newspaper said.

Hundreds of Commonwealth Edison customers in the Rockford area were without power because of the derailment, ComEd spokesman Paul Callighan told the newspaper.