On July 6, 2013, 74 unattended freight train cars carrying
Bakken Formation crude oil rolled down a 1.2% grade from the town
of Nantes and into the downtown area of the Town of
Lac-Mégantic. The ensuing derailment resulted in a fire and
explosion of multiple tank cars.
The devastation was far reaching and resulted in forty-two
people being confirmed dead, with five more missing or presumed
dead. Approximately 30 buildings, representing almost half of the
Town's centre were destroyed with more buildings needing to be
demolished as a result of the petroleum hydrocarbon
contamination.
According to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's
report the train was carrying approximately 7.7 million litres of
petroleum crude oil in 72 Class 111 tank cars. The train engineer
parked the train on a descending grade on the main track, applied
the hand brakes on all five locomotives and shut down all but the
lead locomotive. The applicable rules require hand brakes alone
