Firefighters still seeking train crash missing
Source: Agencies |
July 9, 2013, Tuesday
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HAZARDOUS conditions hindered Canadian firefighters yesterday as they attempted to search for some 40 people still missing after a runaway oil tanker train exploded over the weekend, killing at least five people, officials said.
Quebec provincial police Sergeant Benoit Richard said yesterday morning there was no searching overnight because the situation remained too dangerous.
He said only a small part of the devastated scene has been searched as firefighters made sure all flames were out.
Many of those missing were believed to have been drinking at a popular downtown bar when the explosions occurred and rescuers were still not able to reach the area, Richard said.
"Hopefully we'll be able to open up more areas for searching during the day," he said.
Firefighters yesterday were focusing their efforts on two oil-filled cars dousing them with water and foam in an attempt to keep them from overheating and exploding.
All but one of the train's 73 tanker cars were carrying oil when they somehow came loose early on Saturday morning, sped downhill nearly 11 kilometers into the town of Lac-Megantic, near the Maine border, and derailed, with at least five of the cars exploding.
About a third of the community of 6,000 was forced from their homes by the explosion and flames.
The growing number of trains transporting crude oil in Canada and the US had raised concerns of a major disaster, and this derailment was sure to bolster arguments that a proposed oil pipeline running from Canada across the US would be safer.
"This is an unbelievable disaster," said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who toured the town on Sunday and compared it to a war zone. "This is an enormous area, 30 buildings just completely destroyed, for all intents and purposes incinerated. There isn't a family that is not affected by this."
Anne-Julie Huot, 27, said at least five friends and about 20 acquaintances remained unaccounted for.
"I have a friend who was smoking outside the bar when it happened, and she barely got away, so we can guess what happened to the people inside," Huot said. "It's like a nightmare."
Badly burned bodies
A coroner's spokeswoman said it may not be possible to recover some of the bodies because of the intensity of the blasts. Spokeswoman Geneviève Guilbault said the bodies are so badly burned that identifying them could take a long time. She said none of the five bodies that have been found so far have been identified and two have been sent to Montreal for further analysis.
All of the autopsies will be conducted in Montreal because there is no laboratory in town.
For the second day in a row, she urged families of the missing to come forward with details that could help them identify the bodies, such as tattoos, dental records, or objects that would contain the DNA of the deceased.
Health and civil security officials held a separate news conference and said some residents might be allowed back home.
The train's oil was being transported from North Dakota's Bakken oil region to a refinery in New Brunswick.
Quebec provincial police Sergeant Benoit Richard said yesterday morning there was no searching overnight because the situation remained too dangerous.
He said only a small part of the devastated scene has been searched as firefighters made sure all flames were out.
Many of those missing were believed to have been drinking at a popular downtown bar when the explosions occurred and rescuers were still not able to reach the area, Richard said.
"Hopefully we'll be able to open up more areas for searching during the day," he said.
Firefighters yesterday were focusing their efforts on two oil-filled cars dousing them with water and foam in an attempt to keep them from overheating and exploding.
All but one of the train's 73 tanker cars were carrying oil when they somehow came loose early on Saturday morning, sped downhill nearly 11 kilometers into the town of Lac-Megantic, near the Maine border, and derailed, with at least five of the cars exploding.
About a third of the community of 6,000 was forced from their homes by the explosion and flames.
The growing number of trains transporting crude oil in Canada and the US had raised concerns of a major disaster, and this derailment was sure to bolster arguments that a proposed oil pipeline running from Canada across the US would be safer.
"This is an unbelievable disaster," said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who toured the town on Sunday and compared it to a war zone. "This is an enormous area, 30 buildings just completely destroyed, for all intents and purposes incinerated. There isn't a family that is not affected by this."
Anne-Julie Huot, 27, said at least five friends and about 20 acquaintances remained unaccounted for.
"I have a friend who was smoking outside the bar when it happened, and she barely got away, so we can guess what happened to the people inside," Huot said. "It's like a nightmare."
Badly burned bodies
A coroner's spokeswoman said it may not be possible to recover some of the bodies because of the intensity of the blasts. Spokeswoman Geneviève Guilbault said the bodies are so badly burned that identifying them could take a long time. She said none of the five bodies that have been found so far have been identified and two have been sent to Montreal for further analysis.
All of the autopsies will be conducted in Montreal because there is no laboratory in town.
For the second day in a row, she urged families of the missing to come forward with details that could help them identify the bodies, such as tattoos, dental records, or objects that would contain the DNA of the deceased.
Health and civil security officials held a separate news conference and said some residents might be allowed back home.
The train's oil was being transported from North Dakota's Bakken oil region to a refinery in New Brunswick.
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