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OFFICIALS IN CANADA have found five bodies so far in their grim search for victims from the catastrophic derailment of an oil-laden cargo train, while 40 more are still missing.
Firemen in this picturesque Quebec lakeside town finally managed Sunday to put out the raging inferno sparked more than a day earlier when a driverless freight train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded, sending fireballs skyward and unleashing a wall of fire that tore through downtown homes and businesses.
That meant police finally would be able to conduct a full search of the charred wreckage at the disaster scene.
But the accident devastated the center of this small town 250 kilometers east of Montreal, near the US border, and forced about 2,000 to flee their homes there. Locals struggled to come to terms with the scope of the disaster.
Fire fighters continued to water smoldering rubble on Sunday. (AP Photo/THE CANADIAN PRESS,Ryan Remiorz)
Many in this heavily Catholic area were unable to go to Sunday services because their church was squarely within the burned out area. The lucky ones headed to churches in nearby towns
Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) said in a statement that the train had been transporting 72 carloads of crude oil when it derailed
A spokesman for the rail line, Christophe Journet, said the train had been stopped in the neighboring town of Nantes, around 13 kilometers west of Lac-Megantic, for a crew changeover.
For an unknown reason, Journet said, the train “started to advance, to move down the slope leading to Lac-Megantic,” even though the brakes were engaged.
As a result, “there was no conductor on board” when the train crashed, he said.
The MMA have said that their representatives are at the scene “in spite of statements that MMA people have not been available,” it said.
The company said they would also be launching their own investigation into the smash, but have been prevented from doing so while the government continue with their investigation.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Saturday offered his “thoughts and prayers” to the community, and said the federal government was ready to provide assistance.
The Red Cross also set up an emergency shelter at an area high schools to help those left homeless by the disaster.
- Additional reporting AFP
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Oh no…they couldn’t go to mass..
seriously, is that worth including in a story where many died? It’s like saying, people couldn’t go to the gym because of the explosion.
I think it’s an interesting inclusion, it gives you an insight into the place’s social dynamic. If a small town is described as heavily Catholic, in a place like Canada or the Northern US, thn you get a picture of th kind of place it is. You can but rough archetypes to the names and faces in the media, and start to identify a bit more with the people behind the tragedy.
It also gives some idea as to how a small town wopuld start to come to terms with a disaster like this, and adds another dimension to the arbitrary cruelty of the crash that it destroyed their place of worship, preventing many from doing so.
Why did this story take so long to break in the Irish media? It happened very early Saturday morning but it wasn’t in most Irish media until Sunday. I heard a rumour Saturday evening but when I checked RTE, the Independent, the journal – nothing. Eventually I found an article on the examiner’s website. Strange one, considering the hullabaloo about some politician who won’t vote with her party.
It’s not just the Irish media either. The prominence of this story is very low compared to the plane crash in San Francisco where only two people died. I suspect that when the death toll is known for this one it will be well into double figures.
Media outlets are often accused of giving US news undue prominence, but I would have thought that Canada would also have been covered by that.
No, Canada is nothing in the US media. Biggest news event this weekend was Andy Murray, also when a train disaster, plane crash, referee killing then getting mutilated, 8 month old baby left in car while mom went to work and died, many others, but the talk of the day is the now ,british’, not scottish Murray getting knighthood…. priorities….. nice world….
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