Train Derailment Over Yellowstone River Bridge Causes Hazardous Spill

A train derailed in Montana this weekend, causing a bridge over a river to collapse ... which now has officials worried that a hazardous spill is in making its way through the water.

The accident happened early Saturday morning, when a freight train went crashing into the Yellowstone River ... for reasons that have yet to be determined. Several rail cars are partially submerged in the water -- and word is, some of them are carrying toxic materials.

One of those chemicals is reported to stem from petroleum products -- some have said it's actually asphalt and other slow-moving liquids that have yet to be identified. The authorities have said they fear some of that may have started to seep into the river -- which feeds into the water supply for nearby residents. A full assessment is currently underway.

While there's no official word on a bona fide threat ... some citizens in Yellowstone/Stillwater Counties have reportedly been told to limit their water usage for the time being.

As you can imagine, emergency crews are on the scene and attempting to clean up what they can. Federal and state lawmakers are also responding en masse -- saying they're monitoring the situation and working with the appropriate experts to get it under control.

Of course, this is far from the only train derailment that's made news in the past year or so -- the one that went down earlier this year in East Palestine turned out to be a disaster.

Naturally, the issue of crumbling bridges and shoddy train tracks has been questioned of late ... especially across party lines. Some are wondering where the recent federal infrastructure bill money is going ... and why these incidents appear to be happening more regularly.