CN railcars carrying crude oil derail near St. Lazare

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This article was published 15/02/2019 (1890 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dozens of CN rail cars carrying crude oil derailed near St. Lazare early Saturday morning.

Jonathan Abecassis, a media relations director with CN Rail, said in an email Saturday about 37 crude oil cars derailed, causing a partial leak of oil.

“Our environmental team is responding to start cleanup, remediate the site and protect the environment,” Abecassis wrote. “A perimeter has been set up around the area to facilitate site access. “

There were no reports of injuries or fire.

The derailment occurred at 3:30 a.m. near the community about 160 kilometres northwest of Brandon.

Area rancher Jayme Corr said Saturday he and his family were placed on an evacuation notice around 5 a.m., but did not have to leave in the end.

Corr owns the land where the derailment occurred, about 10 km south of St. Lazare.

“We could smell it (oil) in the air when we went outside,” Corr said.

The cars derailed on his pasture close to a lagoon where his cattle would be drinking water later in the year.

Fortunately, he said, the water is still frozen and the cleanup crews should be able to make it safe long before the thaw.

“It would be worse if it was summertime, too.”

Corr added he figured something like this would happen sooner or later.

“It’s no surprise, put it that way, that something was going to happen down here,” he said.

“Until they start maintaining the track, this is going to keep happening.”

Corr said he has been after CN for years to keep the track on his property in better repair.

Abecassis said CN crews will be conducting a full site assessment to determine how much product has spilled and exactly how many cars are involved.

First responders are on location and investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada have been sent to the scene.

» brobertson@brandonsun.com

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