BREAKING: Canadian town center ‘wiped out’ as freight train carrying crude oil explodes (PHOTOS)

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.

About 30 buildings were destroyed and 60 people are believed to be missing, but the force of the fire has prevented rescue workers from searching for survivors.

Parts of the town were evacuated in the early hours as fireballs shot several metres in the air, flames spread to nearby homes and thick acrid smoke filled the air in Lac-Megantic, which is close to the Maine border and about 250km from Montreal.

Fireball: A cloud of fire is blasted into the sky above Lac Megantic after a freight train explodedFireball: 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 derailedExplosive: Balls of fire and thick smoke fill the sky above Lac Megantic after a train carrying crude oil derailed

The force of the blaze has prevented emergency workers from getting close to the damaged buildings to check for survivors.

It is not yet known if anyone was killed or injured in the blast, according to the Hamilton SpectatorThe Montreal Maine & Atlantic train did not have a driver and was being run on autopilot.

About 30 shops and homes in the town center, including the library and local weekly newspaper’s office, 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.

Witnesses said the blast flattened an apartment building and part of a pub, which had a terrace packed with people at the time of the fire, according to CBC.

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 skyDevastation: 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 spreadRescue: 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 downDestruction: 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.

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sent his sympathy to the stricken town.

‘Thoughts & prayers are with those impacted in Lac Megantic. Horrible news,’ he said on Twitter.

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.

Zeph Kee, who lives about half an hour from Lac-Megantic, told CBC: ‘It was total mayhem … people not finding their kids.’

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.’

Read more: Daily Mail

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