Emily Chan, CTVNews.ca
Published Saturday, March 7, 2015 9:40AM EST
Last Updated Saturday, March 7, 2015 4:15PM EST
A CN freight train carrying crude oil derailed early
Saturday in northern Ontario, causing 10 cars to jump the tracks.
Ontario Provincial Police said the derailment happened near
Gogama, Ont., around 2:45 a.m. Saturday morning, with some of the cars catching
fire and others falling into the Mattagami River.
Residents of Gogama and the local Mattagami First Nation
have been instructed to stay indoors until further notice to prevent possible
smoke inhalation. They have also been told to avoid drinking water from the
"community source," police said.
Burning fuel fills the sky with smoke after a train
derailment near Gogama, Ont. on Saturday March 7, 2015. (Denise Brunet /
MyNews)
OPP Const. Gillian Coughlin told The Canadian Press that
officers are on scene, and firefighters from the nearby Gogama Fire Department
have been called in help douse the flames. Gogama is about 80 kilometres south
of Timmins, Ont.
"There has been nobody injured which is crucial, but we
definitely do have an issue going on there with cars that caught fire,"
Coughlin added.
The Gogama Fire Department released a statement saying the
smoke itself is not toxic, but particles in the smoke may be dangerous. The
department recommended anybody with breathing disorders stay inside until
further notice.
"Emergency crews are conducting a full site assessment
and activating the emergency response plan with local officials," CN
spokesperson Emily Hamer told The Canadian Press.
A local business owner told The Canadian Press the fire
spread quickly along the Mattagami River and has destroyed a bridge on the
outskirts of Gogama.
"We have two exits in Gogama to get in and out of town
and the bridge apparently is burned down," said Roxanne Veronneau, owner
of the Gogama Village Inn.
"So now we have one other exit, which is relatively
close to where all of this is going on."
The derailment also closed a section of Highway 144, between
Highway 560 and Mattagami Reserve Road. The road is a major route connecting
Timmins with southern Ontario. It is expected to remain closed for 24 to 36
hours, the OPP said.
Via Rail passenger service has also been cancelled between
Winnipeg and Toronto. You can check the status of Via trains here.
Veronneau says that people in Gogama are on
"edge," and she feared that the derailment could be a repeat of the
deadly rail disaster in Lac-Megantic, Que.
"They're not impressed because it could have happened
right here," she said. "Look in Quebec what happened to them and how
many lives were lost.
"My inn is about 200 feet from the train tracks and
it's a major concern for the people in town ... If it had happened in the
middle of town we wouldn't be having a conversation right now because we would
have gotten taken out. It would have been horrible being this close and the
track runs right through the middle of Gogama."
Coughlin says that the cause of the derailment is still
being probed, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deployed
investigators to the site.
This is the third time in the past month that a CN train has
gone off the tracks in northern Ontario.
On Feb. 14, 29 train cars derailed south of Timmins. In that
incident, seven cars caught on fire, and Via Rail passenger trains were forced
to cancel trips along the route from Winnipeg to Toronto.
Another CN freight train carrying crude oil or gasoline
derailed Thursday about 100 kilometres east of Hornepayne, Ont., but there was
no spillage in that incident.
CN said the train that derailed on Saturday was outfitted to
meet new upgraded standards for cars carrying crude oil and other flammable
liquids. The changes were instituted in light of the Lac-Megantic disaster two
years ago, which resulted in 47 deaths.
However, after the incident in February, the agency said the
upgraded cars still "performed similarly" to those in involved in
Lac-Megantic, and that last month's incident "demonstrates the
inadequacy" of the new standards.
CN is urging Transport Canada to institute even greater
protection standards to reduce the risk of spills.
