Thirteen cars of a tanker train carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas derailed in Alberta, Canada causing an explosion and fire. The incident prompted an evacuation of the area, said Canadian National Railway.
One rail car carrying liquefied petroleum gas exploded and three
others caught fire about 80 kilometers west of Edmonton in
Alberta,Canada – the country’s fourth-most populous province
located in the west. The accident took place around 1am local
time.
"We have cars on fire right now and there was an explosion
earlier this morning. The major priority right now for our guys
out in the field is containing these fires," said Parkland
County spokesman Carson Mills. He added that nine cars were
carrying liquefied petroleum gas and four others were
transporting crude.
Canadian National Railway spokesman Louis-Antoine Paquin told The
Canadian Press that three cars containing gas are still leaking.
Alberta officials have declared a state of emergency, setting in
place a voluntary evacuation for local residents of Gainford,
Alberta.
There were no injuries reported. Forty-nine people have
registered at the emergency evacuation center and will not be
allowed to return home until Sunday, Mills said.
A part of Highway 16 has been closed due to the fire, CTV News
reported, adding that traffic is expected to be rerouted for the
next 48 hours.
“There’s a major risk for the area, so we are rerouting
traffic, keeping people far, far from that area,” Mills said.
Canada's Transportation Safety Board said it has sent a team of
investigators to the site.
This is the third incident of CN train cars carrying hazardous
materials to derail in recent weeks. On Thursday, a similar
accident occurred in Sexsmith - a Northwestern town of Alberta
province. On September 25, a freight train derailed near the town
of Landis, in the western province of Saskatchewan, sending 17
cars off the track - one of which leaked lube oil.
On Thursday, Canadian officials imposed new regulations to
conduct tests on crude oil before transporting or importing it
into Canada. This was prompted by a deadly accident in
Lac-Megantic, Quebec in July when a runaway train carrying crude
oil exploded in the center of the town, killing 47 local
residents. An investigation determined that the oil was more
explosive than labeled.