1.2 million litres of oil spilled in derailment

GUERNSEY, SASK.— The Saskatchewan government says about 1.2 million litres of oil spilled during a fiery train derailment in a rural area last week.

The amount of oil recovered is still being determined, but a significant portion was burned off, the province’s Environment Ministry said in an email Tuesday.

The Canadian Pacific Railway freight train jumped the tracks near Guernsey, about 115 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, early Thursday. Thirty-two of the train’s 104 cars derailed and a dozen caught fire.

Flames and thick black smoke poured from the crumpled train cars and prompted an evacuation of about 85 residents from the area for more than 24 hours.

Reeve Jack Gibney of the Rural Municipality of Usborne, which includes Guernsey, said there is concern in the agriculture community over the second major oil spill in two months. Another derailment in December about 10 kilometres away on the same set of tracks also caused a fire when 1.5 million litres of oil spilled.

The rural municipality is to meet with CP officials Wednesday.

Remediation efforts were already underway at the site of the most recent derailment, the province said. The rail line was reopened on Friday.

Cleanup is expected to take several months.