Town residents will notice a heavier traffic volume through Fort Frances for at least the rest of the day because of the closure of the Trans-Canada due to an accident involving several tractor-trailers early Thursday morning.
The accident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. about 1.5 km east of the Highway 71 junction when at least four tractor-trailer units collided.
Police said at least one of the vehicles burst into flames, resulting in a fire involving several of the others.
The driver and passenger of one of the vehicles were rescued and taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora. They have since been transferred to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, suffering from serious injuries.
One of the tractor-trailer units struck a rock cut while trying to avoid the initial collision, police said. The driver and passenger of that vehicle were uninjured.
The drivers of the other tractor-trailer units still were unaccounted for at press time.
Police anticipated Highway 17 would be closed for about 24 hours as a result of the accident.
In the meantime, eastbound traffic is being diverted south down Highway 71 to Highway 11 while westbound vehicles are detouring down Highway 502 from Dryden.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
