A major train derailment has occurred near Wadena, Sask., prompting authorities to keep people well back from burning railcars and huge plumes of smoke that may be toxic.
The CN Rail derailment happened at 10:40 a.m. CST Tuesday about 20 kilometres west of the town of 1,300, which is about 230 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
Officials are worried about toxic smoke from the burning cars and are keeping people eight kilometres from the scene.
About 50 people were evacuated from Clair, about one kilometre from the crash. People were also evacuated from other farm homes in the area, the RCMP said.
Students at the school in Wadena are being kept indoors.
A spokesman for CN said the train was hauling 100 cars, 26 of which derailed.
Six of them contained hazardous materials, including four that had either hydrochloric acid or caustic soda.
The other two had petroleum distillates, CN said.
Heavy smoke and fire were seen coming out of the crashed cars.
Alison Squires, editor of the Wadena News, told CBC it was a “nasty derailment.”
“Huge plumes of smoke and fire. RCMP and obviously local fire departments,” Squires said. “They’re not allowing anyone to get within a five-mile radius. They’re detouring traffic north of Highway 5, versus south, because they’re expecting that the smoke is toxic.”
It’s not clear which cars are burning, she said. One of the cars not directly in the fire appeared to be carrying anhydrous ammonia, a toxic material used to make fertilizer, she said.
It appears there were also some grain cars and oil cars involved, Squires said.
A CN hazardous materials team is believed to be en route, she said.