Blood clot killed South African tourist travelling on Via Rail train: coroner

Dr. William Lucas said a pulmonary embolism caused the death of Brenda Buckley, 43, a tourist who was on a cross-Canada train trip.

Her death on Friday caused her train to be quarantined in the northern Ontario town of Foleyet, about 100 kilometres west of Timmins, Ont.

Lucas declined to provide details of Buckley's autopsy, saying such information could only be disclosed to her family, but he speculated that the fatal blood clot may have been caused by deep-vein thrombosis, an ailment that can afflict long-distance travellers.

The condition can develop when people sit for long periods in confined spaces. Lucas said in some people, the blood clot forms in the leg before moving to other parts of the body.

He said the condition is usually found in long-distance air travellers, but said it could afflict rail passengers as well.

"Theoretically the same sort of risks would exist for someone sitting for a prolonged period of time on an extended train journey," Lucas said.

"We don't tend to look at trains as as much high-risk as airplanes because they're not quite as constricting or confining in terms of space, and there's much more ability of passengers to get up and move around."

Lucas said embolisms caused by deep-vein thrombosis are relatively rare, but cautioned long-distance travellers to be aware of the risks of sitting too long in one position.

Buckley's death garnered national headlines and provoked fear of a pandemic Friday morning when her Toronto-bound train was halted and then quarantined.

Fears of an infectious disease outbreak were further fuelled by reports that many passengers had contracted flu-like symptoms and that one traveller had been rushed to hospital.

Officials later said the hospitalized passenger was treated for a pre-existing respiratory condition, and confirmed that neither Buckley's death nor the spate of flu symptoms were caused by an infectious disease.

The train was allowed to leave Foleyet late Friday night and arrived in Toronto a little more than 24 hours behind schedule.