WINNIPEG – About 40 people are out of their homes after a train carrying propane derailed at Emerson, Man., on Tuesday morning.
“I was woken up by the shaking,” Richard Penner said from Emerson after he was evacuated. “It almost shook my TV off the stand.”
The BNSF Railway train went off the rails near Fifth Street E. and Taylor Avenue at about 7:30 a.m., RCMP said. Two cars carrying unscented propane derailed, but no leaks have been detected, police said.
A third car that derailed was empty, a BNSF spokeswoman said.
The derailment happened at low speeds while crews were switching cars, and none of the cars were compromised, she said.
The area within 100 metres of the derailment was evacuated, affecting about 40 people.
Firefighters told Penner to leave his home because of the risk of an explosion.
“They’ve evacuated the corner of town,” he said. “Emergency services are basically setting themselves up in and around the derailment.”
Evacuees who need somewhere to go are at the community centre, Penner said.
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