Train derails near Macoun

At least a dozen cars derailed Thursday on a Canadian Pacific rail line near the village of Macoun, about 20 kilometres northwest of Estevan.

According to Carmen Dodd-Vicary, the village’s chief administrative officer, the derailment happened just before 10 a.m. Thursday.

“My assistant and I in the office heard what sounded like the train braking quite suddenly, and when we looked out the window we did see a fairly large, black plume of smoke,” she said.

Dodd-Vicary said she and her foreman went to have a closer look and saw grain cars overturned, and other cars on fire. She didn’t know what may have been in those rail cars.

“The train itself is blocking both entrances into Macoun and I believe that the fire and rescue that is on scene is rerouting traffic from Highway 39 around, just to avoid the area,” she said.

The train was heading west from the Estevan area, and at this point it doesn’t appear as though the safety of anyone in the village is at risk.

Dodd-Vicary said the weather at the time of the derailment was clear and sunny, with a light wind from the southeast which is pushing the smoke away from the community and from Highway 39.

The RCMP said no injuries have been reported, and representatives from Canadian Pacific were on the scene. Highway 39 was closed in both directions due to smoke affecting visibility, the RCMP said, and drivers were asked to avoid the area.

An alert message from SaskAlert said residents living within a 2,200-metre area of the derailment will be contacted if they are required to evacuate their homes. Anyone contacted and asked to leave their home should go to the Midale Civic Centre, SaskAlert noted.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said later Thursday that it’s deploying a team of investigators to Macoun to “gather information and assess the occurrence.”

650 CKOM has reached out to the rail line for more information.