Canada - 47 killed as train explodes, Lac-Megantic, QC, 6 July 2013

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Last moments of Lac-Mégantic: Survivors share their stories

LAST CALL
On July 6, 2013, a runaway train carrying millions of litres of crude oil derailed in the heart of Lac-Mégantic. The tangled wreck exploded, transforming the town’s main drag into a river of fire. Many of the 47 people who died in the disaster were inside the Musi-Café, a popular bar packed with friends, lovers, neighbours, husbands and wives. The night of terror is told through the eyes of the survivors.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lac-megantic-musi-cafe/article15656116/

Excellent article. wow.
 
At 1:14 a.m., both Luc Dion and Julie Heon noticed a blur at the edge of their vision. They heard a strong wind, the ground began to shake. They knew what was coming; the shape was unmistakable.
The lights on the train were off. No horn had sounded its approach. Freight trains typically crept through the centre of town at 10 kilometres per hour, but this one was moving 10 times that fast.

A must-read. Really.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lac-megantic-musi-cafe/article15656116/
 
matou said:
At 1:14 a.m., both Luc Dion and Julie Heon noticed a blur at the edge of their vision. They heard a strong wind, the ground began to shake. They knew what was coming; the shape was unmistakable.
The lights on the train were off. No horn had sounded its approach. Freight trains typically crept through the centre of town at 10 kilometres per hour, but this one was moving 10 times that fast.

A must-read. Really.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lac-megantic-musi-cafe/article15656116/
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for posting this link, matou.

My heart just breaks. A beautiful, wonderful, ordinary summer evening turned to horror in an instant. So many lives changed.
 
matou said:
Last moments of Lac-Mégantic: Survivors share their stories

LAST CALL
On July 6, 2013, a runaway train carrying millions of litres of crude oil derailed in the heart of Lac-Mégantic. The tangled wreck exploded, transforming the town’s main drag into a river of fire. Many of the 47 people who died in the disaster were inside the Musi-Café, a popular bar packed with friends, lovers, neighbours, husbands and wives. The night of terror is told through the eyes of the survivors.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lac-megantic-musi-cafe/article15656116/

Excellent article. wow.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting. I was just thinking of this yesterday.
Such a lovely town, so very sad.
 
Jury begins deliberations today

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...in-lac-mégantic-rail-disaster-trial-1.4481343

3 separate verdicts

Ex-MMA locomotive engineer Tom Harding, 56, rail traffic controller Richard Labrie, 59, and operations manager Jean Demaître, 53 are each indicted for their role in the 2013 rail disaster.

After giving precise instructions on what to consider in reaching a verdict on criminal negligence causing death, Dumas reminded jurors this is not a joint trial: they will have to analyze the evidence and determine the guilt or innocence of each of the three men, then arrive at three separate verdicts.

Dumas told jurors in the case of Harding, who drove the train on its final ill-fated journey, there are three possible verdicts: They can find him guilty of criminal negligence causing death; they can find him guilty of a lesser charge of dangerous driving of railway equipment, or they can find him not guilty.

After nine hours of instructions to the jury Wednesday, Dumas concluded with a few sombre words about the 47 people who died in the inferno caused by the derailment in Lac-Mégantic and their families.

"It may seem as though the trial didn't focus on the victims. That was done intentionally. I didn't allow any evidence that I felt could have hurt the victims any further," he explained.

"Throughout the trial, the victims have never been far from our thoughts."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...in-lac-mégantic-rail-disaster-trial-1.4481343
 
NOT GUILTY! All three have been acquitted!

Residents in Lac-Mégantic say they support the decision of the jury to acquit three former Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) railway employees charged with criminal negligence causing death in the 2013 rail disaster.

Many in the town say they believe it's not the three accused who deserved to be on trial for their part in the tragedy that killed 47 people, instead pointing the blame at those much higher up the corporate ladder.
Click to expand...

"These are human beings, with families, who worked hard all their lives. These aren't killers. We treated them like killers," Clusiault said.
Click to expand...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/lac-megantic-residents-react-1.4496062
 
The bankrupt railway at the centre of the 2013 Lac-Megantic tragedy will not have to stand trial for criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people.

After three ex-railway employees facing the same charge were acquitted in January, there was little chance of convicting their former employer, Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway.

http://canoe.com/news/national/lac-megantic-tragedy-no-trial-for-bankrupt-railway
 
Preliminary work on rail bypass of Lac-Megantic to begin, though it's not without opposition:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mont...ay-train-diaster-transport-minister-1.6989278

More than 10 years after the Lac-Mégantic train derailment, Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez has announced the start of preliminary work on the rail bypass.

He said the federal government has reached an agreement with Canadian Pacific Kansas City for the work and the agreement will allow for a call for tender to hire the contractors for the bypass.

[...]

While visiting Lac-Mégantic, Rodriguez said he met with the mayor and several community members as well as the mayors of nearby Nantes and Frontenac.

[...]

The bypass has received heavy pushback from many residents in Lac-Mégantic and from people in the neighbouring municipalities of Nantes and Frontenac.

Map of bypass from Railway Age article in May (edited to replace older article):
www.railwayage.com

Lac-Mégantic Bypass Land Acquisition Nears Finish Line - Railway Age

Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra and Minister of Public Services and Procurement Helena Jaczek on July 15 announced a “turning point in moving forward the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass construction project” involving
www.railwayage.com www.railwayage.com
Click to expand...
0799-city-megantic-bypass-762x1024-1-762x1024.png
 
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