No injuries after CP train strikes maintenance truck on tracks, KFR says

Photo: Jason Kilgren

Emergency crews are responding to a vehicle on fire on the train tracks near Lafarge Road.

UPDATE: 12:06 p.m.

There were no injuries as a result of an incident where a Canadian Pacific train collided with a maintenance truck on the tracks near Lafarge Road, according to Kamloops Fire Rescue.

Henry Chin, KFR acting captain, told Castanet Kamloops there was no one in the CP maintenance vehicle at the time of the crash, which happened about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Witnesses reported seeing a black plume of smoke rise from the area and the vehicle fully engulfed in flames.

“A CP engine collided with a truck that was doing maintenance. It’s under investigation right now,” Chin said.

Chin said the engine was hauling 130 empty grain cars, so there weren’t any dangerous goods on board at the time of the crash.

Chin said one KFR engine, a rescue truck and a water tender responded to help put out the vehicle fire sparked as a result of the collision, which took about a minute to knock down.

“We just needed extra water to keep the hot spots down and cool it,” Chin said.

As of about noon on Wednesday, KFR and CP crews were still on scene, where the burned out vehicle remained on the tracks in front of the train.

Chin said crews are waiting for an excavator to remove the wreck, which was expected take about an hour.

In an emailed statement, a CP spokesperson confirmed a freight train "contacted a CP vehicle on the tracks."

"There were no injuries, and there was no derailment. The incident is under investigation," the statement said.

ORIGINAL: 10:55 a.m.

Emergency crews are responding to an incident near Lafarge Road where a vehicle appears to be fully engulfed in flames on the train tracks.

The incident happened just before 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Witness photos from the scene shows a train directly in front of the vehicle.

Jason Kilgren told Castanet Kamloops he was driving in the area when he saw a plume of black smoke.

He said the vehicle on fire appears to be a white pickup truck, and appears to be sitting directly on the train tracks.

Kilgren said he saw train crews attempt to put the vehicle fire out with an extinguisher before multiple Kamloops Fire Rescue trucks arrived.

It's unknown if anyone was injured in the incident.

This story will be updated as more information is available.