Canadian Pacific Railway removed one of four rail cars loaded with chemicals from a four-car derailment Wednesday, though two others remained partially submerged in the Thompson River.
The freight train cars jumped the tracks near Lytton, B.C., after being hit by a rock slide just north of the tiny Fraser Canyon community on Tuesday evening.
A clean-up crew has removed a rail car that remained upright on the track and are working on another that is on the river embankment below the track, CPR spokesman Mike LoVecchio said Wednesday evening.
"They have stabilized it, and their next step is to drain the glycol out of that car and into portable storage units,'' he said.
The two submerged cars were also carrying glycol, a substance used in antifreeze, but LoVecchio said both are double-lined tankers. Divers have inspected the two cars and didn't spot any breaches or leaks, he said.
CPR plans to monitor water downstream of the site throughout the clean-up, he said. It also planned a community meeting Wednesday evening.
"We continue to be in touch with the Village of Lytton and the Lytton First Nation and will work with them going forward,'' said LoVecchio.
"There is no estimate at this time for recovery, nor for the line reopening,'' he said.
