A train derailment between Midale and Macoun had closed Highway 39 in both directions on Thursday morning.
Smoke and fire caused by the train resulted in low visibility approximately for two kilometers northwest of Macoun.
Estevan RCMP reported no injuries at the scene.
Estevan residents Amber Mantei and her husband said they were driving on Highway 39 shortly after 9:00 a.m. when they passed the scene.
They were driving to Regina for Agribition when they spotted light gray smoke just before Macoun, SK.
“We were thinking more grassfire, nothing serious like a train derailment,” said Mantei. “Just as we were coming around the bend of Macoun, there was this huge explosion.”
Mantei said they didn’t hear the explosion, but they saw a 100-foot burst of flame from the tracks.
“It just turned from light gray to black smoke, and it just billowed up into the air.”
They reported approximately 20 derailed train cars in the ditch on both sides of the tracks close to the town of Macoun.
“Just as we went by, the heat was so intense right through the glass, it would be like you were standing at a campfire, too long at a campfire and your skin gets kind of dry and hot, that’s how it felt going by.”
Mantei said that luckily the snow and presence of only a gentle breeze prevented the fire from spreading closer to the highway or the town.
RCMP are asking travelers to avoid the area for the time being. Detours are being organized.
The engine car and two additional cars were detached from the remainder of the cars and had pulled ahead of the accident.
“That’s how close the engine was to the main crash site,” Mantei said.
Repairs to the railway were completed Friday morning and train movements are prepared to resume.
Canadian Pacific Railway’s HazMat response team is currently working with local emergency response officials to clean up the remaining railcars.
The investigation is still ongoing by CP Rail and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.