Almost one thousand residents of Lac-Megantic, Quebec’s six thousands residents have been forced to evacuate their homes in a train derailment that has exploded. The train reportedly rolled downhill into the town, getting “out of our control” apparently. A number of the train cars were filled with fuel which then exploded.
Train Crash Explosion
Train company Montreal, Maine & Atlantic told Canada’s La Presse newspaper that the train had been parked outside Lac-Megantic during an overnight driver shift-change.
The Lac-Mégantic derailment occurred in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic, at approximately 01:00AM on Friday. The seventy three car Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway freight train which was carrying crude oil derailed.
Four of the freight cars caught fire and exploded.
Over thirty buildings in the town’s core were destroyed and continue to burn.
Approximately 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
There are reports of one person killed in the disaster, and one hundred people currently missing.
Firefighters have been called in from as far away as the city of Sherbrooke and from Maine across the Canada-US border.
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