SEVEN PERSONS, Alberta — An 80-car freight train carrying molten sulfur derailed in southern Alberta early Wednesday, causing a chemical fire and a brief evacuation of nearby residents, according to the Associated Press.
Darcie Park, a spokeswoman for Canadian Pacific Railway, said 42 cars on the eastbound train left the tracks and sulfur began leaking when some of the cars ruptured.
The ensuing fire released hydrogen sulfide into the air before firefighters extinguished it, she said.
“As a precaution they relocated four families in the area to make sure they had no exposure to the gas,” Park said. The accident occurred about 250 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Calgary in a sparsely populated farming area.
The train carried only the sulfur cargo, with an engineer and conductor as crew. Neither was injured, Park said.
With the temperature at minus 14 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) and firefighters pouring water on the spill, much of the sulfur had solidified beside the track, according to Park.
“It solidifies at this temperature and is now in an inert state,” Park said, estimating the cleanup and track repair would take a few days.