By Rob Gillies
The Associated Press
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press
TORONTO — Canadian authorities quarantined a train in northern Ontario Friday after a woman died and several other people came down with an undetermined illness.
Officials were keeping passengers from leaving the train, said Steve Trinier, the director of ambulance services in the area.
The train was being held in the station in the town of Foleyet, 500 miles northwest of Toronto. The station was evacuated.
As many as 10 people were ill with flu-like symptoms. The illnesses appeared to be contained to two cars on the train of 269 passengers and 30 crew members.
One person was taken to hospital and is in stable condition, Trinier said.
The cross country Via passenger train was headed from Vancouver to Toronto when emergency officials received a call Friday morning and met the train in Foleyet.
Police constable Marc Depatie told CBC TV there were reports that the woman who died was in her 60s and already had flulike symptoms when she boarded the train with a group of tourists in Jasper, Alberta.
Seven other members of her party were experiencing similar but not extreme symptoms, he said.
Trinier said authorities did not know the cause of the illnesses yet.
“There’s certainly a possibility of something as simple as food poisoning and also an environmental toxin of some sort,” Trinier said.
Health officials were on the alert for norovirus, though they said that has not been identified as the cause.
Noroviruses cause stomach flu and can be caught through contact with infected people or by touching or ingesting contaminated items.