Mississauga Railroad Accident
In the railway accident in Mississauga exploded on 10 November 1979 with chemical -laden freight train of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Mississauga , Ontario , in Canada . The subsequent evacuation was then the largest in peacetime in North America and affected 200,000 to 250,000 people.
Starting position
The train came from Windsor , Ontario, and consisted of 106 freight cars loaded with explosive and toxic substances.
the accident
A hot runner developed on the 33rd car of the train because the axle bearing did not receive sufficient lubricating oil . Due to the development of heat, it lost its stability, the axle jumped out and the freight car lost a complete set of wheels in one of its bogies . The car then derailed at 11:53 p.m., as did the following cars on the train, in the middle of the built-up area of the city of Mississauga.
The train's brakeman managed to close the brake hose at the end of the 32nd car so that the engine driver could release the brakes on the front part of the train and pull it out of the danger zone.
Some tank wagons loaded with propane were torn up during the derailment and started to burn. Other wagons loaded with styrene , toluene , sodium hydroxide and chlorine were also damaged . Some of them also expired. The mixture of chemicals caused a huge explosion with a 1,500 meter high ball of fire that was still seen 100 kilometers away.
consequences
The accident did not result in deaths. The fire brigade concentrated on cooling the wagons that had not yet been destroyed and allowing the remaining wagons to burn out in a controlled manner. The problem was a leaking car loaded with chlorine because there was a risk that if it were further damaged by the fire, a cloud of chlorine gas would have drawn through Mississauga. Therefore between 200,000 and 250,000 people had to be evacuated there. This clearance operation was only exceeded in North America by the evacuation measures on the occasion of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The evacuation lasted until November 16, 1979.
See also
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- City of Mississauga (Ed.): Mississauga Train Derailment . Mississauga 1979 .
- Ministry of the Solicitor General of Ontario (Ed.): The Mississauga Evacuation. Final report . 1981 .
- NN: Miracle of Mississauga . Toronto Sun Publishing 1979.
Coordinates: 43 ° 34 ′ 15.8 " N , 79 ° 38 ′ 24.5" W.