A freight train plunged into the Tolten river at the Araucania region in southern Chile, on Thursday, when the bridge it was travelling on collapsed.

The train had been carrying chemicals such as caustic soda, oil and chlorate. The authorities said around 60m of the iron bridge had been destroyed.

A Chilean TV station reported that six carriages had fallen into the river, but there was no information on whether the chemicals had leaked into the water. No injuries were reported.