Lac-Mégantic. The name is now synonymous with disaster after a series of explosions on a Quebec train shipping oil this past weekend, left at least five people confirmed dead and approximately 40 others missing. Canada is reeling from the disaster that has also demolished 30 buildings, including a grocery store, a dollar store, a library, a veterans' park and a popular downtown bar.
According to an article in the CBC, police are actively searching for people after the tanker derailed and then exploded. Stephen Harper compared the scene at Mégantic, a municipality of 6,000, about 250 kilometres east of Montreal, as a "war zone."
"There’s a been a lot of work that has been done on the scene during the night, and hopefully we’ll get some more areas that we can search during the day—but of course, that is the firefighters responsibility," said Quebec's provincial police Sgt. Benoît Richard.
It's thought that failure of the air brakes on the train may have caused the parked train to career into the town. However PM Harper hesitated about discussing causes and railway safety concerns at this stage, claiming the federal government has a system in place for "events like this." The Transportation Safety Board and the police will launch a full investigation with a view to preventing future tragedies.
Evacuees—nearly a third of the town's population—are currently seeking shelter in a local high school. It's hard to imagine the terror at having to flee your home in the middle of the night. Our hearts go out to everyone in the area...
For information, call 819-583-2441 or to report missing persons: 819-832-4953 #6005
If you would like to help, please donate to the Red Cross at 1-800-418-1111 or via its website.
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