LAC-MEGANTIC, Que. ? A large swath of a Quebec town was destroyed on Saturday after a train derailment sparked several explosions and a blaze that sent spectacular flames shooting metres into the sky.
Up to 1,000 people were forced from their homes in Lac-Megantic, about 250 kilometres east of Montreal.
Some people were reported missing, although Quebec provincial police Lt. Michel Brunet said it was too early to say if there were casualties.
Flames and billowing smoke could be seen several hours after the derailment, which involved a 73-car train carrying crude oil.
Authorities set up perimeters as firefighters battled to douse the persistent blaze which was still going despite a steady drizzle.
Worried residents looked on behind the perimeters amid fears some of their friends and loved ones may have died in bars and in their homes after the derailment, which occurred shortly after 1 a.m.
"We're told some people are missing but they may just be out of town or on vacation," Brunet told a news conference.
"We're checking all that, so I can't tell you at the moment whether there are any victims or people who are injured."
Bernard Demers, who owns a restaurant in the town of 6,000, had his home evacuated.
"Early this morning (there was) a big explosion like an atomic bomb," he said in an interview. "It was very hot.... Everybody was afraid."
He said the area was probably bustling on a gorgeous summer night.
"On a beautiful evening like this with the bar, there were a lot of people there. It was a big explosion. It's a catastrophe. It's terrible for the population."
Demers has lived in Lac-Megantic for 45 years and describes the community as a "nice town."
"Everybody is very friendly... It's like a small village. A beautiful town but now it won't be the same."
A Facebook group was quickly set up to help people track down loved ones who couldn't be reached by phone.
A woman offering to locate people at an emergency centre set up at the local high school received hundreds of requests for help.
Lac-Megantic resident Claude Bedard described the scene of the explosions as "dreadful."
"It's terrible," Bedard said. "We've never seen anything like it. The Metro store, Dollarama, everything that was there is gone."
Some of the train's 73 cars exploded and the fire, which could be seen for several kilometres, spread to a number of homes.
"The flames in the sky were really impressive," said resident Pierre Lebeau.
A large but undetermined amount of fuel also spilled into the Chaudiere River.
Several neighbouring municipalities, including Sherbrooke and Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, were enlisted to help Lac-Megantic deal with the disaster.
Emergency services south of the border were also lending a hand.
A fleet of fire trucks were deployed from northern Maine, according to a spokesman at the sheriff's office in Franklin County.
The train belongs to Montreal Maine & Atlantic, which says on its website that it owns more than 800 kilometres of track serving Maine, Vermont, Quebec and New Brunswick.
The train was reportedly heading toward Maine.
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his concern on Twitter.
"Thoughts & prayers are with those impacted in Lac Megantic," he tweeted. "Horrible news."
Environment Quebec spokesman Christian Blanchette said the 73 cars were filled with crude oil and that four were damaged by fire and the explosions.
"Right now, there is big smoke in the air, so we have a mobile laboratory here to monitor the quality of the air," Blanchette said in an interview.
"We also have a spill on the lake and the river that is concerning us. We have advised the local municipalities downstream to be careful if they take their water from the Chaudiere River."
The explosions attracted worldwide media coverage, with the story trending as the most popular international story on the BBC's website as well as featuring on other sites including Le Monde's.
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