One woman has died and another is in emergency care in a Timmins hospital after an illness broke out aboard a Toronto-bound VIA train in northern Ontario this morning.

At a 4 p.m. news conference, Dr. Williams, said the woman's death was "not related" to the symptoms felt by the other passengers. Their illnesses were minor, Dr. Williams said, while the cause of the woman's death is still to be determined.

Five other people, believed to be part of the same seven-member tour group, have reported flu-like symptoms, but are being treated on the train, which is quarantined in Foyelet, a small town northwest of Sudbury.

Kali Garneau, communications co-ordinator for Timmins & District Hospital, said one person was taken by air ambulance to the hospital at 11 a.m.

"We only received one person," Garneau said.

That patient, a female, is in stable condition and is in quarantine, Garneau said.

Garneau did not know if that person was related to the person who died.

There is no other hospital in the area.

The woman who died was 60 and a member of a group of seven travellers. Her name was not immediately released.

All the people who became ill boarded the same two cars in Jasper, Alta.

The train, which was due to arrive in Toronto at 8 p.m. today, started its journey on Tuesday afternoon in Vancouver.

VIA Rail said it has set up a toll-free number that can be called for family members who may be on that train. That number is 1-877-747-0707.

"VIA continues to be in contact with appropriate health and transportation authorities to ensure the safety and comfort of all passengers and crew on board," the VIA statement said.

At the outset, police were investigating to see if there is "any criminal element" to the situation, Sgt. Laura Nichols said.

Emergency personnel with full protective gear went car to car to examine the passengers, assisted by a doctor who was aboard the train.

Foleyet resident Judy Bromley, who could see the train from the front window of her home, said she saw ambulance workers outside her home preparing to enter the train. "They stopped outside, put on white suits and masks, then got back in and left."

Police blocked the entrance to the local CN yard at Young St. and Railway Ave.

Dr. Donald Low, the medical director of Ontario's public health lab, said he doesn't believe an exotic disease such as SARS or avian flu is responsible.

"It doesn't fit the profile because of the explosive nature of this event," said Low, who helped co-ordinate efforts to contain Toronto's SARS outbreak.

Low said food poisoning isn't likely either because it "usually doesn't kill you" and that is associated with gastrointestinal problems and diarrhea.

He said early indications suggest that influenza may be the cause.

"You've got 10 people showing the same symptoms," he said. "I think it could be an outbreak of influenza. This (death) is typical of an older person who maybe has an underlying heart disease."

Both SARS and avian flu take several days to manifest themselves, but the illness that struck the passengers appeared to come on suddenly, he noted.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Low said he will know more when the public health lab in Toronto gets specimens from the health lab in Timmins, likely within the next 24 hours.

Ontario's Ministry of Health has sent two air ambulances with critical care paramedics to the scene from their home base in Sudbury, said ministry spokesperson Laurel Ostfield.

"They're more highly trained than regular ambulance crews," she added, noting the ministry is keeping a close watch on the situation and is working with the provincial agency Emergency Management Ontario.

In Ottawa, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada say they've both been notified.

"Federal officials are collaborating with provincial and regional counterparts to assess the situation and take action as appropriate," federal health officials said in a statement this afternoon.

Federal Health Minister Tony Clement has directed officials to work with provincial, regional and local authorities both in Foleyet and at all points along the route the train travelled, the department said.

Chris Woo, front office manager at Decore Hotels in Jasper, said passengers who board or get off in the resort mountain town stay in different places.

"They don't stay as one group but some go on to other places and others continue on to Toronto," said Woo this morning.

Helen Kelleher-Empey with Jasper Tourism and Chamber of Commerce said passengers who pass through the town of 4,500 via the train arrive from all over Canada and the United States.

"The train picks up people who come up from the States from Amtrak, and drops off people who come form Edmonton and others go on to Saskatchewan," she said. "We call ourselves the train hub of the Rockies."

Toronto resident Karen Maxwade believes her 73-year-old mother, June, is on the train. She said she has contacted Via Rail but has mostly been left in the dark.

"I asked if the train originated in Vancouver and they said they couldn't tell me that," Maxwade said. "Then I asked if they could check if a certain passenger was on the train I was told they couldn't give me that information."

Maxwade said her mother was expected to arrive at 8 p.m. this evening at Union Station, the same time as the quarantined train.

With files from Bruce Campion-Smith, Rob Ferguson, Joseph Hall and Petti Fong

Read more about: