Early Saturday, a locomotive pulling a 72-car freight train full of crude oil from North Dakota was parked for the night 11 km west of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, the engineer checking into a nearby hotel. Sometime shortly after, the unattended train began to roll away, toward Lac-Megantic -- investigators are still looking for the cause. The crude oil cars, rolling downhill, broke free of the locomotives and picked up speed, derailing at a curve in the center of Lac-Megantic, a lakeside town of about 6,000 people. Six massive explosions followed, sending up huge fireballs and setting dozens of buildings ablaze. Thousands were evacuated, and so far, five deaths have been confirmed. Authorities worry the toll will climb much higher, as more than 40 residents are still listed as missing.
Freight Train Derails and Explodes in Lac-Megantic, Quebec
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Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 6, 2013. A large swath of Lac-Megantic was destroyed after a train carrying crude oil derailed, sparking several explosions and forcing the evacuation of up to 2,000 people. #
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Firefighters douse blazes after a freight train loaded with oil derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 6, 2013, sparking explosions that engulfed about 30 buildings in fire. #
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A woman comforts her friend while they sit on the grass at the Polyvalente Montignac, a school sheltering people who were forced to leave their houses after the explosion, in Lac-Megantic, on July 7, 2013. #
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Denis Lauzon, Fire Chief of the Lac-Megantic fire department, briefs reporters on July 7, 2013, as his crews continue to work on fires burning after a freight train loaded with oil derailed, on July 6. #
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A layer of crude oil lies on the surface of La Chaudiere River as it flows from the town of Lac-Megantic, on July 7, 2013. An unknown volume of crude oil spilled from the train wreck, flowing into the river. #
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People attend Mass to pray for the victims of Saturday's train derailment and subsequent explosion and fire, at a church in the village of Sainte-Cecile-de-Whitton, a few kilometers from Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 7, 2013. #
François Laplante-Delagrave/AFP/Getty Images -
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