Breaking news: Canadian town center 'wiped out' as freight train carrying hundreds of tons of crude oil derails and explodes

by Jessica Jerreat

Town of 1,000 evacuated as acrid smoke fills the air
Number of potential injuries or deaths unknown

PUBLISHED: 09:40 EST, 6 July 2013 | UPDATED: 10:31 EST, 6 July 2013

The center of a Quebec town has been wiped out, according to the mayor, after a freight train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in a fireball at 1am on Saturday.

Parts of the town were evacuated as fireballs shot several metres in the air, flames spread to nearby homes and thick acrid smoke filled the air.

Emergency workers helped about 1,000 residents escape Lac-Megantic, which is close to the Maine border and about 250km from Montreal.

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Fireball: A cloud of fire is blasted into the sky above Lac Megantic after a freight train exploded

Explosive: Balls of fire and thick smoke fill the sky above Lac Megantic after a train carrying crude oil derailed

It is not yet known if anyone was killed or injured in the blast, according to theHamilton Spectator.

About 30 shops and homes in the town center were destroyed by the fire, which is being dealt with by firefighters from Quebec and Maine.

'We do fear that there are going to be casualties,' Sergeant Gregory Gomez del Prado, of Quebec Police, told CTV News Channel.

The ferocity of the blaze has made authorities fear for the safety of many of the lakeside town's 6,000 residents. About 120 firefighters are still trying to contain the fire in the town center.

'When you see the center of your town almost destroyed, you'll understand that we're asking ourselves how we are going to get through this event,' the town's mayor, Colette Roy-Laroche, said.

'We're told some people are missing but they may just be out of town or on vacation,' Lieutenant Michel Brunet, of Quebec police, said.

A Facebook page has been set up to help friends and family check on their loved ones, according to the Toronto Star.

Devastation: Residents said the explosion looked the the end of the world, as thick smoke and flames filled the sky

Rescue: As the town was evacuated residents watched in horror as the fire spread

Destruction: About 30 buildings in the center of the town, near the border with Maine, have burnt down

An emergency center set up in a school has also been inundated with requests for help.

Flames could be seen from several miles away as the fire spread to several homes after the 73-car Montreal Maine & Atlantic train, which was heading towards Maine, derailed.

Resident Anne-Julie Hallee, who saw the explosion, said: 'It was like the end of the world.'

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

Some of the oil has leaked into a lake and the Chaudiere River, and plumes of thick smoke are still above the town several hours after the blast.

'We have a mobile laboratory here to monitor the quality of the air,' Environment Quebec spokesman Christian Blanchette said.

'Firefighters are working hard to extinguish that fire, but it's burning hard because of the crude oil,' Gergeant Gomez del Prado said,adding that it would take a while for the fire to be contained.

Derailment: Smoke is still filling the streets around where the 73-car freight train derailed

Pollution: Environmental workers are monitoring the plumes of smoke, as well as contamination of a river

'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.'

Firefighters have set up a perimeter around the town as they try to tackle the blaze, which was caused when four of the cars that were pressurized blew up.

'There are still wagons which we think are pressurized. We're not sure because we can't get close, so we're working on the assumption that all the cars were pressurized and could explode. That's why progress is slow and tough,' local fire chief Denis Lauzon said.