An elderly woman is dead and three other passengers were taken to hospital Saturday after developing flu-like symptoms on an eastbound VIA Rail train.

The train, headed to Toronto from Vancouver, was stopped in Parry Sound, Ont., for six hours starting at 5 a.m. after an 86-year-old woman was reported to be unconscious and unresponsive. Emergency crews boarded the train and confirmed the woman had died.

The two compartments occupied by the passengers were quarantined, and the train arrived in Toronto just before 4 p.m.

The train left Vancouver on Christmas Day. The woman who later died had boarded in Edmonton on Dec. 26 with two relatives.

Joanne Woodward, a spokeswoman for the Ontario Ministry of Health, said they are still awaiting test results to determine the cause of the illness. A post-mortem examination is expected Sunday. The Ontario Provincial Police are withholding the woman’s identity until all family members are notified.

Health officials say it’s not believed any other passengers or the train’s crew were exposed to the ailing passengers taken off the train.

Meanwhile, a man is dead after a collision between a VIA Rail train and a pickup truck in southwestern Ontario.

Chatham-Kent police say the male driver died when the truck was struck around 10:30 a.m. Saturday at a crossing near Thamesville, south of London.

They say the man — whose name was not released — was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

VIA Rail spokeswoman Elizabeth Huart says the train was travelling from Windsor to Toronto, and that no one on board was injured. The train continued on to Toronto after being released by police.

With files from The Canadian Press