The coroner who investigated the deaths of 47 people in the Lac-Mégantic train disaster last year concluded their deaths were “violent” and “avoidable.” Forty-seven coroner’s reports — one on each person who died — were released on Wednesday (October 8).
The victims were identified by DNA samples and dental records. Because of the state of the bodies, coroner Martin Clavet could only determine that the cause of death was probably asphyxia or trauma from the explosions.
Each of the coroner’s reports had a photo of the derailment, with a red circle indicating the position of each of the victims.
The train was carrying 72 cars of crude oil when it derailed and exploded in the heart of the tiny town of Lac-Mégantic in the Canadian province of Quebec.
This past summer the Transportation Safety Board of Canada concluded that the company that ran the railway involved in the derailment, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA), “was a company with a weak safety culture that did not have a functioning safety management system to manage risks. The TSB also learned that Transport Canada did not audit MMA often and thoroughly enough to ensure it was effectively managing the risks in its operations.”
“Accidents never come down to a single individual, a single action or a single factor. You have to look at the whole context,” said Wendy Tadros, Chair of the TSB when the Board’s report on the derailment was released. “In our investigation, we found 18 factors played a role in this accident.
More information:
CBC News – Lac-Mégantic coroner says 47 deaths were ‘violent, avoidable’ – here
Toronto Star – Lac-Mégantic deaths ‘violent and avoidable,’ Quebec coroner’s concludes – here
Bureau du coroner Québec (in French) – Déraillement de train mortel à Lac-Mégantic – here
Transportation Safety Board of Canada press release – TSB identifies systemic problems leading to Lac-Mégantic train accident and calls for additional safety defences to improve rail safety – here
Transportation Safety Board of Canada – Lac-Mégantic report – here
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.