The train was carrying 183 passengers and eight crew when it left the tracks at the south-western town of Thamesville on Friday.

It was reported to have slammed into four stationary tanker cars, but it is not yet known what caused the crash.

One witness said the train had switched tracks at high speed, causing it to derail and crash into the tanker cars on a side track.

Emergency services were reported to have evacuated nearby houses and a nursery in case the accident caused an explosion.

Emergency workers examine the wreckage

Federal Transportation Minister David Collenette told Canadian television that the train had hit Canadian National Railway cars carrying ammonium nitrate pellets.

Train operator Via Rail confirmed that the two people who died were railway employees, but their identities have not been revealed.

Police said injured passengers were taken to Chatham Hospital about 12 miles from the scene, while others were treated for cuts and bruises at a local clinic.

The front part of the locomotive was badly damaged by the impact, and two of the four passenger cars overturned.

The train had been travelling from Windsor, Ontario, near the border with the United States, to Toronto when the accident happened.