Canada Train Blast: All Missing Believed Dead
Parts of the devastated scene have been too hot and dangerous to enter and find bodies even days after the Quebec disaster.
Sky News 11:56pm UK, Wednesday 10 July 2013
The aftermath of the crash in a Quebec town
Fifty people have now been confirmed dead or are presumed dead after a runaway freight train derailed and exploded in Canada.
Twenty bodies have already been found and officials are telling the families of 30 other people missing that all are believed to have been killed.
A railway boss has blamed an employee for failing to set the brakes properly.
Edward Burkhardt, chief executive of Rail World, made his comments during his first visit to the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic.
Mr Burkhardt, who arrived with a police escort and was heckled by angry residents, said a train engineer had been suspended without pay.
The boss said: "I think he did something wrong. It's hard to explain why someone didn't do something.
"We think he applied some hand brakes but the question is did he apply enough of them.
"He said he applied 11 hand brakes, we think that's not true. Initially we believed him but now we don't."
Edward Burkhardt, chief executive of Rail World visited Lac-Megantic Mr Burkhardt does not suspect sabotage was involved.
An area of Lac-Megantic was flattened in the inferno caused by the crash, as a wall of fire tore through homes and businesses.
Some parts of the devastated scene have been too hot and dangerous to enter and find bodies even days after the disaster.
The blaze forced about 2,000 residents to flee their homes in the town, which has a population of 6,000. Most residents started returning on Tuesday.
The train, operated by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and carrying crude oil, had been stopped for a crew change in the nearby town of Nantes when it broke loose and hurtled downhill without a conductor towards Lac-Megantic.
It travelled for nearly seven miles before derailing at a curve in the tracks at 63mph and several wagons exploded.
Investigators are looking closely at a fire that happened on the train less than an hour before it became loose while stationery in Nantes.
The train's engine was shut down - standard operating procedure but one that might have disabled the brakes.
Police said a range of possibilities remain under investigation, including criminal negligence.
Some officials have raised the possibility the train was tampered with before the crash.
Canada Train Explosion: Criminal Probe Starts
12:21am UK, Wednesday 10 July 2013
A criminal investigation has been launched after a train carrying crude oil came off the rails and exploded, killing 15 people.
The mangled remains of the train after the explosion in Lac-Megantic
The death toll rose as police gained access to the centre of the crash site in Lac-Megantic, near Quebec in Canada, for the first time.
Many of the dozens of people still missing are feared buried in the blackened remains of buildings destroyed by the blast.
The blast destroyed around 30 buildings in the small Canadian town
Inspector Michel Forget, of Quebec Provincial Police, said investigators had discovered "elements" that may point to criminal involvement.
They are examining whether a fire on the train a few hours before the disaster set off the deadly chain of events.
The train travelled downhill for nearly seven miles before derailing
The engine was shut down after the blaze - a standard procedure but one that might have disabled the brakes.
The train broke loose and hurtled down a hill for nearly seven miles before jumping the tracks at 63mph, causing at least five of the 73 cars to explode.
Axle gear was strewn across the town of Lac-Megantic
The blast destroyed around 30 buildings, including a popular nightspot that was packed with people.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper likened the scene to a "war zone" and said the country had witnessed an "unbelievable disaster".
At least five of the freight train's 73 wagons exploded
Local resident Gilles Fluet, who saw the train just before it derailed, said: "It was moving at a hellish speed.
"(There were) no lights, no signals, nothing at all. There was no warning. It was a black blob that came out of nowhere."
Barriers have been placed on rivers to contain the oil
Meanwhile, authorities battled to stop waves of crude oil from the disaster reaching the St Lawrence River, an important supply of water for the region.
Yves-Francois Blanchet, the environment and wildlife minister, said the chances of containing the spill were "very slim".