Rail yard worker dies in incident St. Paul

A railroad worker has died after an incident at a St. Paul rail yard. Police say the incident happened around 12:30 a.m. during a shift change at the rail yard along Childs Road, southeast of downtown. The Canadian Pacific worker was taken to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Canadian Pacific spokesman Martin Cej says Canadian Pacific is withholding details about the incident.

"Our thoughts are with the employee's family and friends at this time. Out of respect for their privacy, we are not releasing any additional details about the employee or the incident at this time," he said.

Cej says such deaths are extraordinarily rare. He says the rail company will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

In the meantime, Canadian Pacific is offering counseling to its employees.

The St. Paul rail yard is where train cars are switched and crews get on and off trains.

Correction (March 27, 2016): An earlier version of this story indicated a cause of death, which authorities have since retracted.