Lac-Megnatic Fire: Death Toll Rises In Oil Tanker Explosion [VIDEO]

The death toll is expected to rise as a fire continues to burn in eastern Quebec 24 hours after an oil tanker exploded in the heart of a small town. The high-speed, driverless train derailed early Saturday and burst into flames, forcing about 2,000 people from their homes. The 73-car train destructed at 1 a.m. in the town of 6,000 known as Lac-Megantic. One person has already been confirmed dead, police spokesman Guy Lapointe told reporters in a news conference.

"We have already confirmed one death and we expect there will be others," he said. "We also expect that the number of people reported missing will be greater than the final death toll."

Lapointe did not give details about the number of possible dead or people unaccounted for, the Associated Press reported. He said the nature of the incident made it difficult for police to get an estimate. The blast leveled dozens of homes and buildings as a mushroom cloud of fire erupted from the cars. Four of the cars in the train were carrying 30,000 gallons of crude oil from North Dakota. Crude oil shipments have been increasing due to higher crude oil production along major pipelines in Alberta and North Dakota, which has caused concern for residents in town bordering a pipeline. Accidents of this scale, however, have seldom ever occurred.

It is believed that the crash may have occurred due to a fault in breaks, causing a runaway-train situation. Edward Burkhardt, chairman of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, said a train operator said he had securely parked the train a few miles up the road just hours before the explosion.

"He claims he set the brakes on all five of the engines. He also claims he set the brakes on a sufficient number of cars on the train," Burkhardt said.

Residents cried as the smoke billowed the morning after the crash. The runaway train passed near the Musi-Cafe, a popular spot in town. Yvon Rosa said he was just leaving the cafe when he spotted the train barrelling toward the town.

I have never seen a train traveling that quickly into the center of Lac-Megantic," he told Radio-Canada, saying he watched as the train careened around a bend. "I saw the wagons come off the tracks ... everything exploded. In just one minute the center of the town was covered in fire."