A luxury passenger train slammed into an oil tanker near Rife on Wednesday morning, closing U.S. Highway 6 and spilling oil onto the highway.
The crash near Mile Pond Road caused “only minor injuries,” the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. Sheriff’s officials didn’t say how many people were hurt.
U.S. Highway 6 was closed in both directions while emergency vehicles tended to the crash. The closure is between Mile Pond Road and Peterson Lane at mile point 94.5, the Colorado Department of Transportation said.
Photos provided by the sheriff’s office show a mangled tanker with oil spilling from the shoulder onto the asphalt of the highway.
Drivers were asked to use an alternate route.
No injuries were reported on the train, which is from the Canyon Spirit line, a company spokesperson said. The luxury train runs from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Denver, with stops in Moab, Utah, and Grand Junction.
Dallas Carlson, a spokesperson for Canyon Spirit, said the train was unable to continue on its scheduled route.
“Emergency services are on site, and we are working with the authorities,” Carlson said in an email. “Our thoughts are with everyone involved.”
This is a developing story that may be updated.
