A driverless train pulling over 70 tankers of crude oil derailed and burst into flames in a Canadian town on Saturday, triggering the evacuation of around 1,000 people.
Maine officials, who received a request for help at around 3 a.m. ET, report that the train jumped the tracks in the town of Lac-Megantic in the province of Quebec near the U.S. border.
The ensuing blast rocketed a fireball and smoke into the air, with fire quickly spreading to nearby homes.
Townsfolk describe “chaos”
Firefighters are still battling the fallout from the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train explosion with environmental emergency services checking for airborne toxins.
The inferno spread to nearby homes and eyewitnesses describe a picture of “chaos”
Quebec police spokesman, Sergeant Gregory Gomez del Prado, told the BBC: “We do fear that there will be fatalities and from now we’re trying to locate the people that are still missing.”
60 people are reported missing, but no casualties have yet been confirmed.
