Train carrying crude oil derails in Quebec town

LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec — A large swath of a town in eastern Quebec was destroyed Saturday after a train carrying crude oil derailed, sparking several explosions and forcing the evacuation of up to 1,000 people.

Several people were reported missing but Quebec provincial police Lt. Michel Brunet said it was too early to say if there are any casualties in the town of Lac-Megantic (LackMAH-Gan-Tic), about 155 miles east of Montreal.

The explosions ignited a blaze that sent flames shooting into the sky, and billowing smoke could be seen from several miles away hours after the derailment.

Some of the train’s 73 cars exploded and the fire spread to a number of homes in the lakeside town of 6,000 people, which is close to the border with Maine and Vermont.

“When you see the center of your town almost destroyed, you’ll understand that we’re asking ourselves how we are going to get through this event,” an emotional Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche told a televised news briefing.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper tweeted: “Thoughts & prayers are with those impacted in Lac Megantic. Horrible news.”

The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.

Authorities set up perimeters as firefighters battled to control the fire, and worried residents looked on amid fears that some of their friends and loved ones may have died in their homes

“We’re told some people are missing but they may just be out of town or on vacation,” Brunet told a news conference.

Lac-Megantic resident Claude Bedard described the scene of the explosions as “dreadful.”

“It’s terrible,” Bedard said. “We’ve never seen anything like it. The Metro store, Dollarama, everything that was there is gone.”

Bernard Demers, who owns a local restaurant, had to evacuate his home after the derailment.

“Early this morning (there was) a big explosion like an atomic bomb,” he said. “It was very hot. ... Everybody was afraid.”

Environment Quebec spokesman Christian Blanchette said a large but undetermined amount of fuel had also spilled into the Chaudiere (Ah-DERRe) River.

“Right now, there is big smoke in the air, so we have a mobile laboratory here to monitor the quality of the air,” Blanchette said.