Train operated by IOC derails north of Sept-Îles, no injuries, says spokesperson
A train operated by the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) derailed this afternoon near Sept-Îles, Que., confirms Claudine Gagnon, a spokesperson for Rio Tinto.
According to the Gagnon, the lone engineer on the train was not injured.
IOC's train derails north of Sept-Iles, no injuries according to IOC spokesperson. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBCnl?src=hash">#CBCnl</a> <a href="https://t.co/esEiiBXcg4">https://t.co/esEiiBXcg4</a>
—@ChrisEnsingCBC"Teams from Sept-Îles are on there way," Gagnon told CBC News.
The train, traveling south from Schefferville, derailed between mile marker 37 and 38, about 60 kilometres north of Sept-Îles.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said IOC has reported the incident, but the TSB will not be deploying a crew to the site.
John Cottreau, a media relations officer with the TSB, said the train derailed when a piece of rail broke.
Fourteen cars derailed from the track, Cottreau told CBC News.
The train was carrying pieces of rail as part of the summer maintenance program for the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway.
Cottreau said the TSB will continue to monitor the situation.
Gagnon told CBC News there is "no environmental impact" and said that 14 cars was not a "major" amount of cars because of the size of the IOC trains.
Gagnon said the train derailed around 2 p.m. ET and that all rail traffic has been stopped.
"We are doing all we can to resume operations," Gagnon told CBC News.
Past derailment killed engineer
IOC locomotive engineer Enrick Gagnon was killed when the train he was operating derailed in 2014.
The train was traveling towards Sept-Iles when it came in contact with a boulder, derailing the train and sending two locomotives into the icy water.
- Sept-Îles fatal train derailment: Locomotive engineer couldn't have prevented crash, says TSB
- Sept-Îles train derailment: Divers find body of engineer Enrick Gagnon
A TSB report concluded that Gagnon could not have avoided the collison.
The report also said that QNS&L did not regularly inspect rock face for danger of slides.
When asked if this most recent derailment had any connection to the derailment in 2014, Gagnon responded that it was too early to comment.
"We are going to have an internal investigation of this," said Gagnon.
Gagnon said the important thing is that no one was injured in this incident.
"Safety is our top priority," said Gagnon. "Hopefully we'll have our operation back on track as soon as possible."