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Engineer blamed for Canada blast | Engineer blamed for Canada blast |
(35 minutes later) | |
A train operator's chief executive has blamed a local engineer for a runaway train that derailed and exploded in a Quebec town, killing at least 15. | |
Rail World boss Edward Burkhardt said he did not believe the last engineer had set a series of hand brakes, despite the engineer's protestations. | |
Residents heckled him as he visited Lac-Megantic. | |
Sixty people are now known to be dead or missing after Saturday morning's disaster. | Sixty people are now known to be dead or missing after Saturday morning's disaster. |
At least 30 buildings were razed by the fireball from the explosion. | At least 30 buildings were razed by the fireball from the explosion. |
'Risky environment' | 'Risky environment' |
Making his first visit to the town on Wednesday, Mr Burkhardt said a train engineer had been suspended without pay. | |
"I think he did something wrong," Mr Burkhardt said, flanked by police escorts, in Lac-Megantic. | |
"It's hard to explain why someone didn't do something. We think he applied some hand brakes but the question is did he apply enough of them. | |
"He said he applied 11 hand brakes. We think that's not true. Initially we believed him but now we don't." | |
Some 200 officers were still conducting searches on Wednesday morning. | Some 200 officers were still conducting searches on Wednesday morning. |
But police said the effort was taking a toll on some crew members and two people had to be taken off the operation over worries for their physical condition. | But police said the effort was taking a toll on some crew members and two people had to be taken off the operation over worries for their physical condition. |
"This is a very risky environment," said Quebec Provincial Police Sgt Benoit Richard. | "This is a very risky environment," said Quebec Provincial Police Sgt Benoit Richard. |
On Tuesday, Quebec Police Inspector Michel Forget said investigators had ruled out terrorism as a motive for the attack, but criminal negligence remained under consideration. | On Tuesday, Quebec Police Inspector Michel Forget said investigators had ruled out terrorism as a motive for the attack, but criminal negligence remained under consideration. |
"This is an enormous task ahead of us," he said. "We're not at the stage of arrests." | "This is an enormous task ahead of us," he said. "We're not at the stage of arrests." |
Authorities have asked the relatives of those still missing to provide DNA samples by bringing in toothbrushes, razors and other items. | Authorities have asked the relatives of those still missing to provide DNA samples by bringing in toothbrushes, razors and other items. |
But the authorities have also warned some of the bodies may have been burnt to ashes in the explosion. | |
'Partial responsibility' | |
The train, carrying 72 cars of crude oil, was parked shortly before midnight on Friday in the town of Nantes about seven miles (11km) away. | |
Local firefighters were later called to put out a fire on the train. | |
While tackling that blaze, they shut down a locomotive that had apparently been left running to keep the brakes engaged. | |
Shortly afterwards the train began moving downhill in an 18-minute journey, gathering speed until it derailed in Lac-Megantic and exploded. | |
The fire department and the train's owners have appeared in recent days to point the finger at one another over the disaster. | |
Mr Burkhardt suggested on Tuesday evening that firefighters shared some blame. | |
"We don't have total responsibility, but we have partial responsibility," he told reporters in Montreal. | |
The train was carrying oil from the Bakken oil region in the US state of North Dakota to a refinery on the east coast of Canada. | |
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