Analysis Of The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster
he Lac-Mégantic rail disaster occurred in the town of Lac-Mégantic, in the Eastern Townships of the Canadian province of Quebec, at approximately 01:15 EDT,[1][2] on July 6, 2013, when an unattended 74-car freight train carrying Bakken Formation crude oil rolled down a 1.2% grade from Nantes and derailed downtown, resulting in the fire and explosion of multiple tank cars. Forty-two people were confirmed dead, with five more missing and presumed dead.[3] More than 30 buildings in the town's centre, roughly half of the downtown area, were destroyed,[2] and all but three of the thirty-nine remaining downtown buildings are to be demolished due to petroleum contamination of the townsite.[4] Initial newspaper reports described a 1-kilometre (0.6