Update: Derailed Canada oil train explosion in Quebec leaves 1 killed and 60 missing, forces town evacuation

Four tanker cars of petroleum exploded in the east Canadian province of Quebec after a train derailed, leaving flames billowing hundreds of feet into the sky. Some 30 buildings were destroyed and 1,000 evacuated from homes. At least one has been killed.

"It's dreadful," Lac-Megantic resident Claude Bedard told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "It's terrible. We've never seen anything like it. The Metro store, Dollarama, everything that was there is gone."

The 73-tanker train left the tracks shortly after 1 a.m. local time as it was passing through the French-speaking lakeside town of Lac-Megantic, causing a huge fireball to rise into the night sky. Witnesses told Reuters they heard at least five loud blasts. The fire spread to a number of homes.

Radio Canada has reported that dozens are missing.

The blast was described as "like an atomic bomb," by a local restaurant owner. Bernard Demers had to evacuate the premises, telling AP that everybody had been terrified.

The train "somehow got released," and had no conductor on board, according to the rail company. The convoy of crude oil left the station of its own accord during a shift change in Nantes, west of the affected region.

"We're not sure what happened, but the engineer did everything by the book. He had parked the train and was waiting for his relief," Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, Inc Vice President Joseph McGonigle said on Saturday.

Approximately 1,000 of the town's 6,000 residents have been evacuated, with many missing. Police imposed a 1/2-mile (1-km) security zone around the blast's center.

Early on Saturday, a Quebec provincial police Lt., Michel Brunet, told a press briefing that it had been too early to say if there were any casualties.

"I can say absolutely nothing about victims...we've been told about people who are not answering their phones, but you have to understand that there are people who are out of town and on holiday," said Brunet.

"Thoughts & prayers are with those impacted in Lac Megantic. Horrible news," tweeted Prime Minister Stephen Harper as firemen tried to calm the blaze.

Reader Comments

Unkl Brws · 2013-07-07T16:35:56Z

Hmmm...

Comet?

JayMark ·

Derailement.

· 2013-07-10T09:36:04Z

Article13 · 2013-07-08T00:14:43Z

not really

Stupidity and Oil company neglect. The staffless and brakeless train rolled down a light grade from a neighboring town and picked up speed, then jumped the tracks at a curve in the middle of a lovely quiet little town, turning it in a fireball.

Barakis · 2013-07-10T10:45:10Z

You are a fool. The neglect is on the fire department. The oil company? All they did was pay for a service to have their product moved. Get a clue hippie.

JayMark · 2013-07-08T09:40:13Z

Hummm...

I don't think it was a comet.

Apparently, the train had made a stop in Nantes which is the town before Lac-Mégantic to do a crew change.

So the working crew exited the train but it was left standing there and the replacement crew didn't get in right away like it is supposed.

Now since the train was on a downhil section, it somehow started rolling (for some reason the braking system failed) and accelerated towards Lac-Mégantic where it derailled and burst into flames incinerating half of the downtown area.

Curiously, a woman took a picture of the train hurtling towards the town (before it derailled and exploded) and it apparently had already caught in fire. Officials said it could have been only some oil burning and might not be related to the tragedy.

As of today, 5 deaths have been confirmed and 40 people are still (oficially) missing (most likely dead as well). The bodies have burned down to ashes so it's not an easy task to identify them (they have to do some DNA testing).

Anyhow this is a really sad tragedy. :_(

theodocius · 2013-07-08T10:57:34Z

Horrible......

JayMark thank you for your info.....

lydia · 2013-07-09T07:31:33Z

Hot summer

I think this summer we will see more and more accidents of this sort. I don't know if it is cosmic or not, or human errors due to cosmic energy, but I have a bad feeling.

JayMark · 2013-07-10T08:16:04Z

Ok

The provincial police (Sûreté du Québec) wants to charge the train company (Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Inc.) with criminal negligence stating that what they are looking at is a crime scene.

Barakis · 2013-07-10T10:45:54Z

They should charge the firefighters with neglect. They are at fault for forcing them to shut down the locomotive which was what kept the brakes engaged.

Barakis · 2013-07-10T10:44:01Z

Who's at fault

The train was parked and a fire broke out. The fire department was called and they told the engineers to shut down the locomotive, which needed to be running to keep the brakes engaged, then shortly after it started to move.

Sounds like the firefighters should have listened to the train engineers and we could have avoided this disaster.

[Link]
However don't let me stop you hippies from blaming the evil oil company.

ironjam628 · 2013-07-11T15:07:47Z

You're right, corporations are never to blame for anything. They are models of perfection and all of us should feel ashamed for daring to question our masters. Consider me admonished. I'll be a good boy now, Barakis, I promise.

JayMark · 2013-07-11T15:02:52Z

Facts

First of all, trains are equipped with a secondary (mechanical) braking system which is completely independent from the engine(s). All the mechanical brakes are independent from car to car and activated manually.

Second of all, the main (pneumatic) braking system is meant to stay engaged (locked) even when the engine is shut down and will remain so until the engine is turned on again which needs to be done in order to release the brakes.

Another thing is that there was nobody in the train when the firefighters arrived. The operator was gone to take a nap. It is mandatory for train operators to always apply the mechanical brakes when leaving a train unattended no matter what.

So there is really no reason why a train should start rolling by itself whenever the engine is turned off, especially in a case where the mechanical brakes are supposed to be engaged as well.

So blaming the firefighters is quite irrelevant considering those facts. They have done absolutely nothing wrong. Simply shutting the engine does not release the brakes. And more so the mechanical brakes should have been engaged as well at that moment to begin with.

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Update: Derailed Canada oil train explosion in Quebec leaves 1 killed and 60 missing, forces town evacuation

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