SYDNEY, April 5 (Reuters) - Glencore GLEN.L on Wednesday declared force majeure on Australian coal shipments after a cyclone closed a railway line, the company said in a statement.
A critical mountain pass on the railway connecting Australia's biggest coking coal mines to ports has been hit by landslides and buckled tracks after Cyclone Debbie pounded the northeast state of Queensland, crippling efforts to get exports of coal flowing again.
BHP Billiton BLT.L BHP.AX , the world's biggest shipper of coking coal, declared force majeure - a clause typically invoked after natural disasters - earlier in the day.