2 rail cars overturn in La., residents evacuated

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Six rail cars derailed in southern Louisiana Saturday, causing a hydrochloric acid leak from two of the cars that forced police to evacuate thousands of residents within a 1-mile radius of the accident.

The two cars began leaking after the 2:20 a.m. Saturday derailment, Lafayette Corporal Paul Mouton said. Authorities went door to door, asking residents to leave the area.

Local firefighters and state police were on the scene, Mouton said.

He said the area is mostly businesses, but there was also a few apartment complexes and a nursing home. Mouton estimated thousands will have to be evacuated.

Acadian Ambulance official Clay Henry said 20 bedbound residents of Our Lady of the Oaks nursing home were being taken to a hospital. He also said two railroad workers had been taken to a hospital for possible exposure and for observation.

The Federal Railroad Administration agency will conduct an investigation, an agency spokesman said. Such an action is typical in cases that involve the release of hazardous materials.