Some traffic west of Wainwright, Alta., was being rerouted on Tuesday afternoon as emergency crews responded to a train derailment along Highway 14.
Aime Smyl, the fire chief for the Town of Wainwright, told Global News that about seven train cars derailed and that some of them are believed to be loaded with sand.
Smyl said some fuel had leaked because of the derailment but that the leak appeared to be minor and it was not immediately clear where the fuel was leaking from.
According to Smyl, 20 firefighters were called to the scene. No injuries had been reported as of noon.
The mayor of Wainwright, Bruce Pugh, said things like this don’t happen often but people have to remember the possible dangers with trains like these.
“It’s unnerving when you think (about it). Again, fortunately, no dangerous goods (were) being transported on this particular train. But we have to recognize that there are dangerous goods travelling up and down our rails across Canada on a daily basis.”
In a news release issued Tuesday afternoon, the RCMP said they were told there were six train cars “and an engine” that went off the tracks.
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, CN Rail told Global News that two of its trains “came into contact with each other resulting in several derailed rail cars in various positions.”
“There are no injuries, no dangerous goods and no fires reported and there is no risk to the local community,” the company said. “The cause of the derailment remains under investigation.
“CN would like to apologize for any inconvenience as a result of this incident.”
CN Rail said the derailment occurred at about 10:30 a.m.
In a late morning post on the Municipal District of Wainwright No. 61’s Facebook page, officials said “eastbound traffic will exit onto Township Road 45-2” and “westbound traffic will exit north onto First Street until Township Road 45-2.”
An RCMP spokesperson told Global News that the derailment was likely to disrupt vehicle traffic in the area for the remainder of the day.
Smyl told Global News the scene of the derailment was northeast of Bushy Head Lake.
Global News reached out to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to see if that agency could provide any details about what happened.
In a statement, the TSB said it was notified and is “currently following up and gathering information to assess the occurrence.”