A young boy was killed Tuesday when he became wedged between the car of a transit train and a platform full of people during the noon-time rush.
"The child succumbed to his injuries at the scene," said Stuart Brideaux, spokesman for Calgary Emergency Medical Services. "It's a young child, approximately four to five years old."
Police and transit officials were struggling to piece together what happened.
Witnesses suggested the boy may have been trying to get in after the doors were closed and somehow got caught upside down between the car and the platform. Some wept as they tried to describe what they had seen to Calgary police.
Mr. Brideaux said the child was with family members at the time.
"He was with an adult or adults. There were no other injuries at the scene."
Mr. Brideaux said the platform was busy at the time.
"It's right in the middle of Calgary's downtown," he said. "There was both noon-hour pedestrian traffic, the early height of it, as well as generally the downtown platforms are quite busy over the noon hour."
The investigation was initially impeded by a language barrier between the boy's family and officials, Mr. Brideaux said. A bystander was able to help with translation and the problem was largely solved.
A tarp was hung over the accident scene as workers removed the boy's body from the scene.
"It's difficult for everyone involved, to say the least," said Mr. Brideaux.
Calgary's light-rail transit system, known as the C-Train, runs above ground on downtown streets and must share the road with other vehicles.
The accident created traffic chaos as streets were blocked. The train line was shut down and shuttle buses were being used to get passengers to their destinations.