At 7:40 a.m. CT on Monday, March 13, 2006, train V-BIRLPC8-12 derailed 15 cars blocking the single main track at Wittenberg, Missouri.

A BNSF Railway derailment in Missouri that saw several automobiles plunge into the adjacent Mississippi River, may have been caused by the region's heavy rainfall.

According to BNSF Railway, a total of fifteen cars and one locomotive derailed at about 07:40 CST on a single-track mainline in Wittenberg, Missouri. The train, BNSF symbol V-BIRLPC8-12, was enroute from Birmingham, Alabama to Chicago, Illinois with sixty-four loaded autoracks when the trailing locomotive and head fifteen cars of the train derailed along the Mississippi in northern Cape Gerardeau County.

One car spilled several new autos, three of which were quickly absorbed by the flowing Mississippi River. The trailing locomotive wound up on its side on the river bank and at an angle to the rails.

Luckily none of the train's three crew members were injured, but the train engineer was "shook up" by the experience, Fruitland Fire Protection District officials said.

Railroad and fire officials blamed weather for the accident. Heavy rains in recent days had saturated the ground, damaging the roadbed. Recent heavy rains may have washed away the tracks leading to the derailment, fire officials said. "That's a good possibility," said fire Capt. Tom Krydynski.

Railroad officials said it appears the rails may have shifted in the saturated soil, putting the track out of alignment. "It has a similar effect as a washout," said the railroad's Forsberg.