Crash site - Photo courtesy of Global Calgary

By Scott Roblin

Fatal crash

Crash involving tanker kills one & injures nine near Cereal, evacuation order ended

Aug 20, 2019 | 11:25 PM

CEREAL, AB – A multi-vehicle crash on Tuesday afternoon near the community of Cereal has left one person dead and many more injured.

As reported by our partners at Global News, EMS has confirmed one person has been pronounced dead and another nine people in various condition after the collision involving at least 12 vehicles including two semi-trailer units.

According to EMS spokesperson Stuart Brideaux, the crash happened at the intersection of Highway 9 and Range Road 72 at around 3:30 pm.

RCMP say it was a chain-effect crash involving vehicles and semis carrying flammable materials.

“One of the semi trucks was hauling fuel and that fuel ignited,” said RCMP Cpl. Laurel Scott. “So, that caused other vehicles in the collision to catch fire. A second semi was hauling butane and that’s caused a concern.”

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A release from RCMP also confirmed the collision area is “consumed with flames.”

As a result of the second truck hauling butane, a preliminary evacuation order had been issued for the hamlet of Chinook.

By 9:00 pm, Alberta Emergency Alert officially rescinded the evacuation order for the community.

STARS Air Ambulance has flown one person to hospital in Calgary in serious, potentially life-threatening condition while HALO transported another individual in serious condition.

Brideaux also confirmed to Global News that six people have been treated at the scene and are likely to be released.

RCMP are also reaching out to anyone who was a part of or was witness to the domino crash, asking them to meet with officers in nearby Oyen.

“We’re asking those people to attend the Legion in Oyen,” said Scott. “Right now the Legion has been opened, food is available at the Legion, our Victims Services Unit members are at the Legion, and we have an RCMP member or members at the Legion. So, anybody who was a part of this collision, witness or needing some assistance in relation to the collision, is asked to go to the Legion.”

There is no word yet on the original cause of the fatal crash, as Scott added it will be several hours before a collision analyst is able to attend the scene.

“We will have a collision analyst attending,” she said. “But, I can tell you that collision analyst is not able and has not been able to look at the scene to do any examination or investigation.”

Traffic has since been rerouted from Highway 9 to Highway 884 eastbound and Highway 41 westbound.