TORONTO – Ontario police say the woman who died aboard a Via Rail Train on Friday, setting off a massive biohazard response, was a 43-year-old from South Africa.
While a post-mortem examination determined Brenda Buckley’s death was the result of natural causes as earlier reports have suggested, there’s been much speculation as to her age and country of origin.
Authorities had initially given the woman’s age as 60, and later said she was 86 years old.
Police say six other passengers who reported feeling ill around the same time have since been diagnosed with the common flu.
The train from Vancouver remained under quarantine for nine hours Friday in a tiny Northern Ontario town while a hazardous materials medical team determined whether the deceased or ill passengers were infectious.
Once it was determined they were not suffering from anything serious, the train continued on to Toronto.
Most of the 264 passengers and 30 crew members debarked there Saturday morning, most of them in good spirits despite the ordeal.
