Canada train explosion 6.07.2013

Описание: Five people have died and at least 50 are missing after a driverless "ghost train" carrying crude oil, derailed and sparked several explosion in the middle of a small town in the Canadian province of Quebec.
The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers cautiously entered the charred debris on Sunday, more than 24 hours after the spectacular crash that saw flames shoot into the sky and burn into the night.
At least 30 buildings are believed to have been destroyed in the blast in Lac-Megantic on Saturday, and up to 1,000 people have been evacuated from the area.
The incident occurred shortly after 5 GMT when a freight train derailed in Lac-Megantic, a lakeside town of about 6,000 people near the border with Maine.
Although police said they could not yet get close enough to determine whether there were any casualties from the still-burning fires, an aerial photograph showed widespread devastation in the town centre.
Police Sergeant Gregory Gomez del Prado, speaking from Montreal, told Al Jazeera that the authorities were on the scene trying to contain the fire but have not yet been able to extinguish it.
He added that the provincial police were also concerned of the impact of the oil on the environment.
Al Jazeera's Daniel Lak, reporting from Lac-Megantic, said the explosion had taken place in an area including popular restaurants and cafes.
Our correspondent said that the train's crew had tied down for a crew change 11km down the track several hours before the train, without a driver, rolled in to town and derailed.
Pressurised tanks
A witness told a local broadcaster the town centre had been crowded at the time of the derailment. Radio-Canada reported that one building at the centre of the town was a bar popular with young people.
"Many parents are worried because they haven't been able to communicate with a member of their family or an acquaintance," Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche told the local channel.
"We can't give out any information on what's happening right now because the firemen haven't been able to get close."
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said four pressurised tank cars blew up after the train, which had 73 cars in all, came off the rails. Residents told reporters they had heard five or six large blasts.
Fire officials said they feared more of the tanker cars were at risk of exploding. About 30 buildings in the town centre were destroyed, some by the initial blast and others by the subsequent fire, they said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an initial statement via Twitter: "Thoughts & prayers are with those impacted in Lac Megantic. Horrible news."
Lac-Megantic is part of Quebec's Eastern Townships region, an area popular with tourists that is close to the order with Maine and Vermont. Quebec is a predominantly French-speaking province in the eastern half of Canada.
Our correspondent said that some residents and police had said that the oil may be spilling into the aqueducts
and the river.