Breaking: Quebec Crude Oil Train Derailment Sparks Fire And Explosions

7/6/13 - LAC MEGANTIC, Que. - Balls of flames shot several metres into the air after a train carrying crude oil derailed in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic early Saturday, sparking several explosions in the downtown core. Up to 1,000 people were evacuated in the community about 250 kilometres east of Montreal. It was not immediately known whether there were any casualties. Quebec provincial police Lt. Michel Brunet said it was too early to say if anyone was dead.

"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."

Lac-Megantic resident Claude Bedard described the scene as "dreadful."

"It's terrible," Bedard said. "We've never seen anything like it. The Metro store, Dollarama, everything that was there is gone."