No one reported injured. Near Canada border six miles north of Warroad. Image: Graham Scher
Heavy equipment on way to clear wreckage
WARROAD, Minn. — A Canadian National freight train derailed on frozen scrub pine flatlands near the Canadian border. Of 42 cars off the rails, two carried hazardous cargo, the railroad said from its Montreal headquarters. There were no injuries or environmental risk, the railroad said. As a precaution, seven homes were evacuated. Local authorities called in hazmat experts from International Falls, 90 miles way, and from Grand Rapids, 180 miles away. A thorough evaluation of environmental effects might take three days, said Warroad Fire Chief Damien McMillin. The National Weather Service sent began special monitoring of air quality. The derailment was about 4:50 a.m. on a single track along State Highway 313. There passenger trains use the route. The line runs south 370 miles from rom Winnipeg to Duluth, then through Wisconsin to Chicago and the Gulf Coast. The line carries lots of oil from Manitoba’s Bakken fields.