(The following story by David Hogben appeared on the Vancouver Sun website on July 3.)
LYTTON, B.C. — Divers found no sign of leaks Wednesday at the site of a freight train derailment that threw four chemical-carrying cars off the tracks north of Lytton, said Canadian Pacific Railway representative Mike LoVecchio.
Two of the cars, which contained glycol, were partly submerged in the Thompson River. LoVecchio said divers had done a visual inspection of the cars and found no apparent leaks.
The moving train was hit by a rock and mud slide Tuesday evening.
LoVecchio could not confirm the cause of the slide, but noted there was “a major weather event” in the area Tuesday, including a heavy rainstorm.
A third car landed on the embankment between the river and the track and the fourth was knocked off the rails but remained positioned over the track.
There were no injuries.
Glycol is used to produce windshield wiper fluid and antifreeze. LoVecchio said the tank cars are double-hulled.
The derailment occurred on Canadian National track being used by the Canadian Pacific train.
LoVecchio could not say how long the track would be out of use.
The two railways were moving as much traffic as possible on the Canadian Pacific rail line through the Fraser Canyon.