A coal train operator is missing after his train was derailed and pushed into a flowing water by a landslide in remote, mountainous Canada. Mining giant Rio Tinto confirmed the train was found in the waterway below the narrow mountain railroad and that company officials are urgently trying to find the missing driver. Authorities are also working to contain diesel that leaked spilled from the train into the water. Scroll down for video . An aerial view of the train which derailed while heading north of the town of Sept-Ales, in Quebec . It's believed a landslide caused the train to derail, sending it crashing into the water below . The train was carrying empty freight cars from the town of Sept-Ales, in Quebec, when it was derailed by a river feeding into the Gulf of St Lawrence. Derailments have become a particularly sensitive issue in Canada since a crude oil train crash in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013 that killed 47 people. The company said all railway traffic was suspended until further notice. 'We will do our own investigation to determine the cause,' said Claudine Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Rio Tinto. 'Our priority is to find our employee.' A representative of Quebec's environment ministry confirmed diesel had leaked into the water, but could not say how much. He noted that the locomotive carried about 17,000 liters of diesel. 'We are now working to minimize the impact of the derailment on the river.' Iron Ore Company of Canada, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, owns and operates the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, which links its mine to port facilities. The railway also carries iron ore from Cliffs Natural Resources' Bloom Lake mine. A Cliffs spokeswoman said it was too early to speculate about the impact of the derailment. Mrs Gagnon said the line mainly carries ore for Iron Ore Company of Canada and other clients. Trains also carry general freight, including fuel, material and equipment for mining companies and the communities of Wabush and Labrador City in Newfoundland and Labrador and Schefferville, Quebec. Mining giant Rio Tinto, which operates the line, said it was working to locate the train operator, who is still missing . The line is used twice a week for passenger service, with the next scheduled departure from Sept-ÃŽles on Monday. The July 2013 derailment in July also had only a one operator, an unusual practice in the North American railway industry. The only other railway cleared to run one-person trains in Canada was the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway. Quebec Provincial Police said they received a call about 7:30am yesterday about the train's derailment in a remote location north of Sept-AŽles. Police had difficulty accessing the site, about 950 kilometers  northeast of Montreal. Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp owns 15 percent of the company, and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp owns 26 percent.
Locomotive plunged into river, dragging a half-dozen freight cars .
Cars were empty, but an unknown amount of diesel leaked into pristine river .
Company suspended all railway traffic until further notice .
A coal train operator is missing after his train was derailed and pushed into a flowing water by a landslide in remote, mountainous Canada. Mining giant Rio Tinto confirmed the train was found in the waterway below the narrow mountain railroad and that company officials are urgently trying to find the missing driver. Authorities are also working to contain diesel that leaked spilled from the train into the water. Scroll down for video . An aerial view of the train which derailed while heading north of the town of Sept-Ales, in Quebec . It's believed a landslide caused the train to derail, sending it crashing into the water below . The train was carrying empty freight cars from the town of Sept-Ales, in Quebec, when it was derailed by a river feeding into the Gulf of St Lawrence. Derailments have become a particularly sensitive issue in Canada since a crude oil train crash in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013 that killed 47 people. The company said all railway traffic was suspended until further notice. 'We will do our own investigation to determine the cause,' said Claudine Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Rio Tinto. 'Our priority is to find our employee.' A representative of Quebec's environment ministry confirmed diesel had leaked into the water, but could not say how much. He noted that the locomotive carried about 17,000 liters of diesel. 'We are now working to minimize the impact of the derailment on the river.' Iron Ore Company of Canada, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, owns and operates the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, which links its mine to port facilities. The railway also carries iron ore from Cliffs Natural Resources' Bloom Lake mine. A Cliffs spokeswoman said it was too early to speculate about the impact of the derailment. Mrs Gagnon said the line mainly carries ore for Iron Ore Company of Canada and other clients. Trains also carry general freight, including fuel, material and equipment for mining companies and the communities of Wabush and Labrador City in Newfoundland and Labrador and Schefferville, Quebec. Mining giant Rio Tinto, which operates the line, said it was working to locate the train operator, who is still missing . The line is used twice a week for passenger service, with the next scheduled departure from Sept-ÃŽles on Monday. The July 2013 derailment in July also had only a one operator, an unusual practice in the North American railway industry. The only other railway cleared to run one-person trains in Canada was the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway. Quebec Provincial Police said they received a call about 7:30am yesterday about the train's derailment in a remote location north of Sept-AŽles. Police had difficulty accessing the site, about 950 kilometers  northeast of Montreal. Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp owns 15 percent of the company, and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp owns 26 percent.
empty freight cars from the town of Sept-Ales, in company said all railway traffic was suspended until further notice. 'We will do our own confirmed diesel had leaked into the water, but