Train-disaster death toll now set at 47

LAC-MEGANTIC, QuE. • Authorities have established the number of people t hey believe have been killed in the Lac-Megantic train disaster. They place the number at 47. The estimate has fluctuated since the July 6 crash, when authorities weren’t clear on how many of the people declared missing might actually have been away on vacation.

Police say they didn’t recover any more bodies in their search Friday.

They said that leaves the death toll at 42 bodies recovered, and five other people missing and presumed dead. They base their new estimate on information drawn from different sources.

The estimate of total deaths, being cited in recent days, had been 50.

The Transportation Safety Board is calling for two immediate changes in rail policy following the catastrophe.

The agency isn’t waiting for the results of its multi-month investigation, which has just begun, to make the recommendations.

It has sent Transport Canada two safety advisories asking for a pair of changes: first, that dangerous goods not be left unattended on a main track and, also, that rail equipment be properly secured.

Crews from the coroner’s office will take a one-day break tomorrow after working every day since July 6. One police officer broke down in tears during media interviews yesterday while describing how the operation had scarred him emotionally.