UPDATE: For the latest information on this story on Tuesday, click here.
The three Calgary men killed in a massive train derailment in Field, B.C., on Monday have been identified.
In a statement posted on Canadian Pacific Railway’s website, president and CEO Keith Creel said it was with “deep sadness” he learned of the deaths of “three CP family members.”
“The three-person crew included conductor Dylan Paradis, engineer Andrew Dockrell and trainee Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer,” he said.
Jesse Robinson, a friend of Waldenberger-Bulmer, told Global News he went to school with the victim in Grande Prairie, but got to know him better after high school.
Robinson said Waldenberger-Bulmer loved the outdoors and always made an effort to stay in touch.
“He was always interested in what you were doing, always checking in wherever you were,” Robinson said.
Waldenberger-Bulmer’s twin brother, Jeremy, said in an emailed statement that his brother “lived an amazing life,” adding that “half of me is gone now.”
“He got to experience a lot of things in the short time he was with us,” Jeremy said. He always lived his life to the fullest. He has so many friends that are going to miss him.”
Jeremy explained his brother had moved from Victoria to Calgary where he was “planting roots.” Daniel had started with CP Rail in November and was in training and “loved the job so far.”
Jeremy, who also works at CP Rail as a conductor, said he and his brother had “big plans of living out our careers with CP Rail and retiring together to golf all over the world.”
Jeremy said he also worked with Dockrell and Paradis.
“When Daniel got paired with Dylan, he requested that Dylan remain his coach because he looked up to him and loved everything Dylan was teaching him,” Jeremy said. “My heart goes out to everyone grieving.”
Paradis is being remembered as a “family man.”
“Our Dylan was an amazing person,” his wife, Jennifer Paradis said in an emailed statement.
“He was quick-witted, loving, intelligent, gracious and grounded. His laugh was contagious and his smile infectious.
“The sun would rise and set with his daughters and I was lucky to feel his love every day. I will be forever grateful for our beautiful marriage and he will be missed terribly by his loving family and friends.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise money for the families of the three men killed.
Carl Schnurr, the organizer of the funding drive, said everyone he’s talked to in the industry is shocked by what happened.
“My reaction was ‘oh my god,'” he said. “Everybody is very upset by this.”
WATCH: Several damaged train cars lay beside the highway near Field, B.C. after a fatal train derailment
Schnurr said he worked with the crash victims, but due to the nature of the business he sometimes wouldn’t see them for weeks.
The railroading industry may be a large one but everyone supports each other, he said.
“For such a large industry, it’s quite a tight-knit community.”
Schnurr said he can’t imagine what the victims’ families are going through, so he started the page to help out.
“We’re a family and we need to take care of each other,” he said.
WATCH: Train derails near B.C.-Alberta border, killing 3 CP Rail workers
A Teamsters Canada Rail Conference representative confirmed all three men were from Calgary.
The freight train was heading west when it went off the tracks, plunging into the Kicking Horse River just east of Field, B.C. at about 1 a.m. MT.
WATCH: Aerial footage shows the extent of the damage after a fatal train derailment near Field, B.C.
According to Creel, the derailment happened between the Upper and Lower Spiral Tunnels which were built in the early 1900s to accommodate the steep grade change on the stretch of railway.
Greg Edwards with Teamsters said the train fell about 60 metres from a bridge near the Alberta-B.C. border with the locomotive landing in the river. One of the men was found inside the locomotive; the other two were found nearby.
The circumstances that led to the derailment are being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board.
“In the hours ahead we remain focused on employee safety and the safety of our first responders, in addition to working closely with the families of the deceased and all our employees,” Creel said.
“This is a tragedy that will have a long-lasting impact on our family of railroaders. The incident is under investigation and we will not speculate at this time on a cause – we owe it to those involved to get it right.”
He added that recovery of the derailed cars will be “complex and challenging given the remote location and extreme weather.”
Sixteen cars of a CP Rail train derailed on Jan. 3 in the same area. No one was injured in that derailment.
WATCH: The death of three members of a Canadian Pacific Railway crew after a derailment points to a disturbing trend for the rail industry, the union says. Jill Croteau reports.
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