STEWIACKE, Nova Scotia — A youth was charged Saturday in connection with the derailment of a passenger train in central Nova Scotia that injured 24 people.
The young male from Stewiacke was charged with damaging property which caused danger to life and was being held pending a court hearing Tuesday, police said.
His name, age and other personal details were not released.
Police questioned two other youths and released them late Friday, though police said their involvement had not been ruled out.
Nine of the Via Rail train’s 14 cars went off the track in Stewiacke Thursday, with one smashing into a building. Three cars toppled onto their sides, and one lay mangled on top of a feed store and warehouse. The train sheared off telephone poles along the tracks.
Officials investigating the accident said Friday that a railway switch lock was not in its proper position when the cars derailed. While no one would say whether the lock may have been deliberately sabotaged, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was investigating allegations of equipment tampering.
The Via Rail train was on its way to Montreal from Halifax, the province’s capital, carrying 109 passengers and 14 crew, traveling at 45 mph when it jumped a straight stretch of track in the center of Stewiacke, 30 miles north of Halifax.
Emergency officials treated dazed and bleeding passengers before putting them into ambulances or a helicopter for airlift to hospital. The injuries ranged from broken limbs and abrasions to a broken pelvis and chest injuries. Six people suffered severe injuries. None of the injuries was life-threatening.
