Investigators searching for the cause of a fiery oil train derailment that wiped out a small town’s center and killed at least 13 people zeroed in on an earlier blaze on that same train, and the possibility that the series of actions that followed it might have somehow caused the locomotive’s brakes to fail several hours later.
Inspectors, meanwhile, searched for remains in the derailment’s devastated epicenter after being cleared to enter the area late on Monday — almost three days after the disaster. A total of 50 people were missing, including the 13 unidentified victims.
The rail tankers that blew up had a history of puncturing during accidents, but investigators acknowledged that it was too soon to tell whether that had been a factor in the explosions.
All but one of the train’s 73 cars were carrying oil. At least five of the train’s tankers exploded after coming loose early on Saturday, speeding downhill nearly 11km and derailing into the town of Lac-Megantic, near the Maine border. Maude Verrault, a waitress at downtown’s Musi-Cafe, was outside smoking when she spotted the blazing train barreling toward her.
“I’ve never seen a train moving so fast in my life, and I saw flames... Then someone screamed ‘the train is going to derail!’ and that’s when I ran,” Verrault said.
The rail tankers involved in the derailment are known as DOT-111 and have a history of puncturing during accidents, the lead Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigator told reporters by telephone on Monday.
TSB investigator Donald Ross said Canada’s saftey board has gone on record saying that it would like to see improvements on these tankers, though he said it was too soon to know whether a different or modified tanker would have avoided the tragedy.
Officials were also looking at a locomotive blaze on the same train in a nearby town a few hours before the derailment. Ross said the locomotive’s black box has been recovered, and investigators were examining whether the air brakes or the hand break malfunctioned.
The blasts on Saturday destroyed about 30 buildings and forced about one-third of the town’s 6,000 residents from their homes.
Raymond Lafontaine, whose son and two daughters-in-law were among the missing, said he was angry with what appeared to be a lack of safety regulations.
“We always wait until there’s a big accident to change things,” he said. “Well, today [Saturday] we’ve had a big accident, it’s one of the biggest ever in Canada.”
The area remained part of a criminal probe and investigators were exploring all options, including the possibility that someone intentionally tampered with the train, Quebec Provincial Police Sergeant Benoit Richard said.
Canadian Transport Minister Denis Lebel said the train was inspected the day before the accident in Montreal and no deficiencies were found.
Lebel defended his government against criticism it had cut back on rail safety measures. He said the rails remain a safe way to transport goods the vast majority of the time.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese