Train derails, acid leaks, thousands flee Lafayette, La.

Lafayette, La.

Six cars of a freight train derailed Saturday, causing a hydrochloric-acid leak that forced thousands of people to leave homes, businesses and a nursing home within one mile of the wreck.

The spilled acid sent a toxic cloud over the area, and at least five people, including two railroad workers, were treated at a hospital for skin and eye irritation, said Lafayette Parish sheriff's Lt. Craig Stansbury. People were told to expect to remain away from home for at least 48 hours, he added.

An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 gallons were spilled, said Joe Faust, a spokesman for the Texas-based BNSF Railway that operated the train.

Los Angeles

3 wounded as man opens fire at church

A man with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire at a church festival Saturday, wounding his former wife and two bystanders before festivalgoers grabbed him and held him for police, authorities and a church official said.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene, with people screaming and running for the exit after gunfire rang out on a grassy field at the St. John Baptist de la Salle Roman Catholic parish.

Father Robert Milbauer, the parish pastor, said a woman injured was the gunman's ex-wife. The two have a child who attends the school, Ruiz said.

A 45-year-old man was shot in the chest and was in critical condition and another man, 47, was in stable condition with a leg wound, Ruiz said. The identities of the wounded and the gunman were not released.

Angels Camp, Calif.

Mechanical failure eyed in ride collapse

A mechanical failure caused the collapse of a spinning-chair ride at a county fair that injured all 23 aboard, according to an initial investigation.

The ride, the Yo-Yo, collapsed Friday at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, about 80 miles southeast of Sacramento.

All the victims but two had been released from hospitals by Saturday, said sheriff's Sgt. Dave Seawell. The sheriff's office initially said 24 people were injured but revised the number Saturday.

The initial inspection showed that a mechanical failure in the ride's central pole disrupted its normal rotation, causing the collapse, said Paul Feist, assistant secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

A complete investigation was expected to take weeks or months.

Seattle Times news services