Crews were hard at work Wednesday clearing the scene of a train derailment near Craven, Sask., about 30 kilometres northwest of Regina.
A CP Rail train carrying potash derailed Tuesday night just south of the village where the rails cross over Highway 20.
There were no injuries and no public safety concerns, CP Rail said in a statement.
Photos posted by the village and others on social media show rail cars with severe damage.
Austin Van Cryenest was on his way home from work around 9:30 p.m. CST Tuesday when he came across the scene.
“I was coming up to the train tracks, and I saw this huge hill there that I’ve never seen before, and everybody stopped. The train lights were on. And so then I turned on my lights and then there shines a huge pileup of trains,” he said.
Van Cryenest estimated the number of derailed train cars to be in the double digits.
He said he saw piles of pink dust around the damage cars.
In a Facebook post, the Village of Craven asked that people avoid the area to allow emergency crews to work.
The Lumsden Fire Department responded to the scene and cleared it of any “additional hazards,” the department said in a statement.
The fire department was eventually relieved by CP officials, who the company said were dispatched as soon as it was alerted to the derailment.
CP crews were still cleaning up the site of the derailment on Wednesday morning.
Canpotex has confirmed that the derailed cars are owned by the company. They’ve directed all other requests to CP.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation.
Highway 20 in Craven remains at least partially blocked off, although some vehicles were able able to cross the rail section this morning.
However, the Village of Craven said traffic is expected to be very slow.
Officials with the village are continuing to direct travellers to or from Regina to use Highway 99, or Highway 6 as an alternate route.
Craven has a population of about 210. The village is best known as the site for the annual Country Thunder music festival.
