5 April 2007
Derailment Near Leitch Collieries
Crowsnest Pass Alberta - Gene Cervo was up and about in his home
Tuesday morning at about 7:45 a.m. when he heard a loud crash - so loud, he said, that it shook his whole house.
That loud crash turned out to be 14 cars of a 41 car, two locomotive train heading eastbound derailing from the nearby tracks. "It
sounded like the Frank Slide was coming down. As soon as the snow cleared and I realized it was a train that derailed, I got on the
phone and called the appropriate emergency (responders)," said Cervo.
Local RCMP, EMS, Rescue, and fire departments, as well as crews from Canadian Pacific Railway, were all on scene during Tuesday's
derailment, which occurred just south of the East Hillcrest access.
Bellevue Fire Chief Guy Desaunoy noted the derailment occurred within a rock cut, so the cars were not spread all over.
"They barely left the track. They just piled on top of each other," he said.
Cervo said his biggest concern when the crash occurred was he could see that tanker cars were involved. "I gathered up everybody
(in my family), and told them to pack their bags because we're out of here. But then the conductor hollered to me that they were
empty," he explained.
Cervo noted that he was extremely impressed by the fast response time of the local emergency services, as well as the fast arrival of
crews from CPR. "It happened at about 7:45 a.m. and within 15 minutes fire, rescue, and everyone else was already there. I was
really, really pleased."
According to CPR Spokesperson Breanne Feigel, CPR is currently assessing the scene and has determined that 12 of the 14 cars were
empty, however, two cars were carrying lime, which is used as a fertilizer and also used in making mortar, plastic, and paste.
"We are able to determine... a small amount (of lime) is leaking from one of the cars," she said, adding at this time there
is not believed to be any environmental concerns.
Feigel said it was too premature to determine a cause of the derailment, but noted CPR will be conducting an extensive investigation.
"Not only what caused it, but what led to the cause," she explained.
Watch next week's Promoter for more information on the derailment.
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