Authorities say three train operators were killed when their freight train derailed in southern New Mexico's Grant County and plunged down a ravine.
State Police Sgt. Oscar Sosa says the three men were inside the locomotive when the crash occurred yesterday.
Sosa tells the Las Cruces Sun-News that the locomotive was pulling eight cars near Bayard about 75 miles (120 kilometres) northwest of Las Cruces when it went off the tracks and down a 40- to 50-foot (12- to 15-meter) ravine. The cars derailed moments later.
The train was operated by Southwestern Railroad and was carrying a form of iron that is not hazardous, according to operations manager for railroad Chris Grimes.
The paper says the cause of the accident hadn't been determined.
