Five dead, 40 missing in Canada train disaster

CANADA : Five bodies of victims have been recovered in Quebec from the catastrophic derailment of an oil-laden cargo train, but 40 people are missing and the toll is expected to rise, Canadian officials said Sunday. Fires that had stopped police from conducting a full search of the charred wreckage at the disaster scene in the Quebec village of Lac-Megantic have now been put out.

“The flames, the fires all have been put out now. We did it,” fire chief Denis Lauzon told a press briefing.

The accident devastated the center of this small town 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Montreal, and forced about 2,000 to flee their homes.

Police spokesman Michel Brunet said after finding one body late Saturday, they now have found four others and anticipate “many more” fatalities as a result of the disaster.

He added that the official figure for missing people is 40. Saturday’s crash of a freight train carrying crude oil and subsequent explosions decimated the center of the village of Lac-Megantic, which has a population of just 6,000 people.

AFP