No sign of vehicles under 7-metre-deep Highway 1 mudslide
Woman driver walks away with bruised knee
News1130 Staff Jun 29, 2011 11:58:14 AM
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CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) - Fire, police and search and rescue first responders have completed a ground search of the Highway 1 mudslide, but still can't say whether more than one vehicle was impacted by the deluge.
The TransCanada is closed in both directions just east of Bridal Falls, and traffic is being detoured via the Lougheed Highway and Highway 9. One car was hit by the 11 a.m. slide, but the female driver escaped with only a bruised knee.
"We walked the area as best we could to determine if there were any further vehicles under the slide, but we were unable to locate any," says Sgt. Peter Thiessen, spokesperson for the Lower Mainland District Regional Police Service. He points out that the depth of the mud and debris make it difficult to complete the search.
"Next heavy equipment will be starting to move the debris to determine if any vehicles or individuals are trapped under the slide," he says, adding the slide is over 7 metres deep and 61 metres long.
"At this point we cannot confirm if more than one vehicle has been involved in the mud slide. We know one vehicle was involved, but those occupants are safe and accounted for."
The Ministry of Transportation expects to reopen the highway by midnight Thursday in time for the long weekend rush.
Sandra Sigfusson was there when it happened, and she's not so sure no one else was caught in the debris.
"I'm just worried about the people that were behind us because it looks like one guy was struggling to stop. I wonder if he ended up driving into it," she says.
As for the mudslide itself, Sigfusson says it was chocolate brown, thick, and as tall as a car. It just missed her near Herrling Island.
"It was an awful lot of soil," she explains. "It was coming out like soup. It just exploded."
She says water levels in the area are high and it was pouring rain. "All those creeks that run down through that whole section... they're all chocolate-brown in colour and they were just roaring, so it didn't surprise me at all.
The slide also hit the CN tracks. Kelli Svendsen with CN says the debris blocked the line in front of a westbound train.
"I just know that it's stopped, and the train impacted the mudslide," she says. "There were no injuries and no derailment as a result."
The train was pulling containers loaded with consumer goods.
Police say no homes have been impacted.
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Heavy equipment is being brought in to clear away a mudslide on Highway 1 just east of Chilliwack that is over 7 metres deep
Heavy equipment is being brought in to clear away a mudslide on Highway 1 just east of Chilliwack that is over 7 metres deep
A wall of debris covers a 20-foot stretch of Highway 1 near east of Chilliwack on June 29, 2011. http://media.greenradio.topscms.com/images/e9/ff/e99374724635a82bdeb0d5092277.jpeg[/img]
Heavy equipment is being brought in to clear away a mudslide on Highway 1 just east of Chilliwack that is over 7 metres deep http://www.news1130.com/breakingnewsalert
發表於 2011-6-29 18:56
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http://media.greenradio.topscms.com/images/e9/ff/e99374724635a82bdeb0d5092277.jpeg[/img]
