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Sunday, December 30, 2012

She and her relatives got on the train sick


Elderly woman suffering flu-like symptoms dies on Via Rail passenger train

 so she says..
 Last Updated: Dec 30, 2012 7:24 PM ET
..The 86-year-old woman, whose identity has not been released, boarded the train in Edmonton with two relatives, and suddenly died near Parry Sound, Ontario Provincial Police said.

Two cabins on the train, which had departed from Vancouver on Dec. 25, had been quarantined after the passengers said they were feeling ill, said Elizabeth Huart, spokesperson for Via Rail.

She said it was a decision made by both train officials and the passengers themselves to stay in their cabin.

“When [these passengers] boarded the train, they indicated to our employees that they were not feeling good. That they had flu-like symptoms, and it was decided that they would be quarantined,” she said Sunday. “Which means that they would stay in their cabin, and all of the services would come to them.”


The train was travelling eastbound through McDougall Township, about 15 kilometres northeast of Parry Sound, when the woman was discovered to be unconscious and unresponsive.

At around 5:15 am on Saturday morning, West Parry Sound Ontario Provincial Police and emergency workers were notified of the woman’s death. The woman was later pronounced dead by a local coroner.

After the woman’s body was discovered in one cabin, three other train passengers were taken off the train and sent to hospital for treatment, Via Rail said.

Ms. Huart would not say what the relationship of the three passengers were to the deceased woman, she said.

The train, which was scheduled to arrive in Toronto at 9 a.m. on Sunday, was delayed by the incident for six hours.

There were 200 passengers and 13 crew members on board, Via Rail said.

The deceased woman’s identity will not be released until the family is notified, said Joanne Woodward Fraser, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

The body has been transported to Toronto for an autopsy, she added.

A post-mortem examination was scheduled for Sunday at the Office of the Chief Coroner, O.P.P. said.


Ms. Huart said fatalities such as this are isolated cases, and it’s very rare for passengers to be quarantined.http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12...n-to-hospital/