Plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport causes delays
Local
CTV: A CN train was derailed in Dorval, a Montreal suburb, causing several delays for trains on the Montreal-Toronto route on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
“This situation, beyond our control, is causing significant delays,” said Via Rail in a comment to CTV Ottawa.
“VIA Rail is closely monitoring the situation, and cancellations or schedule changes may be announced during the day. Passengers affected will be informed directly.”
The delays caused some Via Rail cancellations for trains running on Tuesday, including train 31 from Montreal to Ottawa, train 44 from Toronto to Ottawa and train 53 to Toronto from Ottawa.
Tuesday’s delays came after weekend delays from cold weather causing “multiple frozen switches” on the tracks between Toronto and Montreal.
National
Global News: Delta Air Lines flight 4819 crashed while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday just after 2 p.m. while carrying 76 passengers and four crew members.
The aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ-900, landing from Minneapolis touched the tarmac just before the plane caught fire at its side and rolled over upside down.
“Airport emergency workers mounted a textbook response, reaching the site within minutes and quickly evacuating the passengers,” said Deborah Flint, president and CEO of the airport.
Twenty-one passengers were taken to hospital, with none of them facing fatal injuries. Nineteen of the passengers have since been released.
Two runways are closed at Pearson Airport and delays should be expected.
A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.
International
CBC: Officials from the United States and Russia met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss Ukraine.
The meeting was the most extensive contact between the United States and Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
“The delegations of the two countries need to work closely together. We are ready for this, but it is still difficult to talk about a specific date for the meeting of the two leaders,” said Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor.
No Ukrainian officials were at the meeting.
The meeting held the goals of restaffing the respective embassies in Russia and the United States, developing a team for Ukrainian peace talks and strengthening relations and economic cooperation.
“Should this conflict come to an acceptable end, [there are] incredible opportunities … to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically on issues that hopefully will be good for the world and also improve our relations in the long term,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
