VALEMOUNT, B.C. -- Two rail cars containing potash have been removed from Moose Lake in eastern British Columbia after a Canadian National train derailed Thursday.

A spokesman with the B.C. Ministry of Environment says one car was fully submerged in the lake and the second was partially underwater.

The spokesman says the ministry has been told that both cars were able to contain most of the potash inside with very little entering the lake.

CN says 26 cars derailed about 30 kilometres east of Mount Robson, not far from the Alberta boundary.

A company statement says a cause for the derailment hasn't been determined and experts and government authorities are assessing any possible impacts to the environment.

It says CN expects to open the south track by Friday and is working on the north track to allow rail traffic through.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2019.