DEADLY TRAIN BLAZE RAISES B.C. CONCERN
Greenpeace has long warned of unsafe rail tankers
LAC-MÉGANTIC, Que. — They are haunted by the friends they couldn’t save, by the memory of people who are missing who may never be found.
Two days after the worst night in the history of this pretty lakeside community 216 kilometres southeast of Montreal, shock and grief have begun to morph into anger at the bizarre and still unexplained rail accident which vaporized much of the downtown core.
At least five people are dead and scores more remain missing after an unmanned freight train owned by The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway and hauling crude oil broke from its moorings and skidded off tracks owned and operated by Canadian Pacific, setting off explosions and sending late-night partiers and residents running for their lives.
Some of those caught in the firestorm — exactly how many still isn’t known — weren’t so lucky. Police said roughly 40 people have been reported missing but admit that number could easily climb or fall once investigators have a chance to speak with relatives of the missing and take a closer look at the smouldering ruins. Five people have been confirmed dead.
“It’s a catastrophe,” said Quebec Health Minister Rejean Hebert, noting that only three or four people were treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries before being released from hospital.
“It’s a black and white situation,” Hebert said, alluding to the fact that people either got away, or they didn’t. There was no in between.
The row of shops, cafés and bistros on lower Laval Street sloping down toward Parc des Veterans and the lake front are gone. So is the notary’s office, a hairdressing salon, the library and the Anglican Church, the old fire hall. So is one of the town’s two funeral homes.
Meanwhile, some of the oil spilled into Lac Meganic, casting a bright yellow sheen as it flowed down a small waterfall into the La Chaudière River. On Sunday, Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche said the water supply was not at risk but advised residents to continue to boil water for five minutes before drinking it as a precautionary measure.
As Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Pauline Marois and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair took turns visiting the town to offer condolences and call for a thorough investigation this weekend, people from Mégantic and the surrounding villages offered their own kind of support, arriving at high school with car trunks brimming with food, diapers, toys for toddlers and even winter parkas.
The mood was sombre among those huddled on the grass outside the high school — which now serves as a makeshift shelter for people who have lost their homes — and those standing in line waiting for permission to go home to get fresh clothes or pick up a beloved pet.
At the Mazda dealership across the street, a growing line of frail, weary looking people hugged the wall as two Quebec provincial police officers struck a fine line between kindness and exasperation.
“Medication on the left, animals on the right,” Const. M.P. Paquette told them for the third time. “Please, be patient.” Wait your turn, and Paquette promised, someone would be along to help them return to their homes to get essential prescriptions or rescue the pets they left behind.
Provided their home is still there.