Monday, July 8, 2013

Quebec oil train catastrophe: five confirmed dead, "many" missing, town destroyed

Yesterday's oil train catastrophe in Lac-Megantin, Quebec, has left a whole town destroyed and burning, with an unknown but extremely high death toll.

Some news excerpts collected by Energy News:

NBC News, July 8, 2013: Fires were still burning more than 24 hours after a driverless train carrying petroleum products derailed and exploded in a Quebec town, setting off a massive blaze [...] Quebec provincial police Lt. Michel Brunet refused to say how high the death toll could eventually go, but said authorities have been told “many” people have been reported missing. [...] Burning crude spilled into the storm sewers and rose up through street manholes, setting buildings on fire, the head of the rail company that ran the train told Reuters. [...] Police officials said they believe at least 50 tanks caught fire [...] 

NPR, July 8, 2013: [...] According to the Montreal Gazette, “the city’s downtown core was almost completely destroyed by the blast. It housed a mix of commercial and residential units in historic buildings.”

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