Andrea Mantei and her husband were traveling on Highway 39 near the town of Macoun, Sask., Thursday morning when they noticed a train had derailed.
Suddenly, flames burst more than 30 meters in the air.
“It was pretty intense,” Mantei said. “We’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Shortly before 10 a.m. CST Thursday, people in the area heard sudden screeching wheels braking and then saw a large plume of smoke, said Carmen Dodd-Vicary, the chief administrative officer for the village of Macoun.
A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train had derailed about two kilometers northwest of the town, located about 160 kilometers southeast of Regina.
Witnesses say about two dozen freight cars carrying oil and new vehicles derailed near Macoun, Sask. (Amber Mantei/Facebook)
A large fire ignited as a result of the derailment and thick black smoke affected visibility in the area, according to the RCMP.
Photos and videos taken at the scene show several oil tankers on fire, as well as some freight cars carrying vehicles. About two dozen train cars were off the tracks.
Mantei said the fire was so intense that she and her husband felt as if they had put their faces too close to a bonfire, even though they drove by with the windows closed.
Highway 39 was closed to traffic in both directions, according to police. Detours were being set up, but RCMP asked drivers to avoid the area.
An emergency alert was issued early Thursday afternoon. People within a 2.2 kilometer radius of the derailment will be contacted if they need to evacuate, according to the alert.
Anyone asked to evacuate will be asked to go to the Midale Civic Center, he said.
Amber Mantei told CBC News the fire was so hot that she and her husband felt like they were putting their faces too close to a bonfire as they walked by. (Amber Mantei/Facebook)
When Dodd-Vicary spoke to CBC News, the local K-8 school had been advised to keep students and staff sheltered in the building, pending notification as the situation changed, she said .
CP Railway was on the scene to investigate, according to police.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is gathering information and assessing what happened, but was unable to provide any information, a spokesperson told CBC News at about 1:30 p.m. CST.
The TSB was sending a team of investigators to the site, the spokesman said.
There were no injuries, according to police.
The engineers appeared to be safe, with the engine sitting about 100 meters from the burning cars, Mantei said.
There appeared to be two cars separating the engine from the tankers where the fire was burning, he added.
Mantei said he cried when he saw the scene, both because of the disaster itself and because the rail line will have to be shut down for cleanup and repairs, which could affect shipments reaching farmers from the area She and her husband farm near Estevan, Sask.
“It’s emotional how intense it was and the horror of the situation,” he said. “But then the trickle of the moment of cause and effect.”