April 3 (Reuters) - The United States' BNSF Railway on

Wednesday said it had received a preliminary report of a freight

train derailment near the northeastern city of Bay in Arkansas

state, an area that was hit by storms and tornadoes in the day.

BNSF did not specify the reason for derailment, but said the

incident happened around 6:50 p.m. CDT on Wednesday.

The railroad group said the mainline had been affected due

to the derailment and that an estimated time for reopening the

track had not yet been determined.

Tornadoes ripped across a wide swath of central and southern

United States on Wednesday, destroying homes and businesses and

bringing down power lines and trees.

The severe storms impacted multiple cities including Bay in

Craighead County in Arkansas, CNN reported, citing county

administrator Brandon Shrader.

BNSF did not respond to a request for comment on the reason

for derailment outside regular business hours.