Fire still burning, but cleanup under way after Ontario derailment

A cleanup operation is under way after a CN Rail freight train carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire in a remote area of Northern Ontario on the weekend.

Patrick Waldron, a CN spokesman, said the incident took place just before midnight on Saturday, about 80 kilometres south of Timmins, Ont., in a remote wooded area.

No one was hurt as a result of the incident, Waldron said.

He said 29 railway cars in the 100-car train derailed, with seven catching fire.

CN sent crews and equipment to the site of the incident and removed 71 cars from the derailment site on Sunday, Waldron said.

He said crews worked overnight in bitter winter conditions to get closer to the site of the derailment, where a fire was still burning on Monday.

Waldron said CN's environmental crews have determined that spilled product from the railway cars has been contained in the derailment area on the frozen, snow-covered ground, and no waterways appear to have been affected.

CN said t is working with the Transportation Safety Board and Ontario's Environment Ministry as it continues to deal with the incident.

The derailment, which blocked a main railway line, also resulted in Via Rail having to cancel trains operating between Toronto and Winnipeg.

Via said alternative transportation would be provided.