A 38-year-old man died and a 59-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries in a train derailment on the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) about 12 kilometres west of Ponton on Sept. 15.
The accident was reported to the Wabowden RCMP around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday and they were advised that two crew members were trapped on board the train, which was carrying gasoline and propane. Officers were flown to the crash scene and remained there until rescue personnel and specialized equipment could be brought in. The 38-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene while the other man was removed from the train early Sunday morning and airlifted to hospital in Winnipeg where he was in critical condition.
“We have immediately convened an internal investigation,” said AGT Foods CEO Murad Al-Katib in a statement on Facebook on behalf of the Arctic Gateway group that purchased the HBR and the Port of Churchill from previous owner OmniTrax at the end of August. “The RCMP will also be starting an investigation, which we are fully supporting and participating in. We have dispatched members of our rail division senior management team to the site. I am also travelling to the site to aid in any way I can. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved in the derailment, and with our employees.”
The federal government had just announced the day before the accident that it was contributing $117 million towards the purchase and repair of the HBR, the northern section of which between Gillam and Churchill had been closed for over a year due to damage caused by flooding in the spring of 2017.
“Our deepest condolences are extended to the family of the deceased HBR engineer, and our thoughts and prayers are with the surviving injured employee,” said a statement on Facebook from the Thompson Professional Firefighters Association, whose members employed by Thompson Fire & Emergency Services were among those who responded to the accident. “This was an extremely complex incident and likely one of the larger multi-agency responses to take place in Northern Manitoba in some time. We want to acknowledge Snow Lake Fire & EMS, Wabowden Fire & EMS, The Pas EMS, RCMP from Wabowden, Snow Lake and Thompson detachments as well as employees from HBR and Custom Helicopters. We know everyone’s skill, technical knowledge and heart and soul came into play last night. Thank you for your dedication and professionalism.”
"Our thoughts are with the friends, families, and coworkers of the two men involved in this tragic accident," said Doug Finnson, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), the union that represents locomotive engineers and conductors who work for HBR. "As we mourn the loss of one of our Teamster brothers, we are also praying for the recovery of the man who remains in hospital at this time."
Finnson said the TCRC had written to the owners of Arctic Gateway to ask to be made aware of developments as they arise and that the union intends to fully cooperate with any investigation by HBR or the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada.
The derailment occurred at the Minago River crossing west of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 39 about 150 kilometres southwest of Thompson. The cause has not been released, but it has been reported that the the accident was caused by the collapse of a bridge, support for which may have been eroded by rainfall.
Three engine cars were transporting 27 cars carrying liquefied petroleum but Arctic Gateway said in a statement that there wasn’t significant environmental damage.
A Transportation Safety Board spokesperson told the CBC that they were aware of the derailment and were gathering information but had not decided whether to deploy investigators to the scene.
An RCMP spokesman told CBC news that a helicopter pilot noticed the accident and alerted police. He also said that the two men were conscious when police arrived and told the officers that they came around a bend in the track and did not see a bridge in front of them.
“We are heartbroken to hear of the death of a railway worker in last night’s derailment near Wabowden,” said Premier Brian Pallister on Twitter. “Our condolences go to his family and friends. We wish a full recovery to his co-worker, and express our appreciation to the brave first responders who attended at the scene.”
