A runaway freight train carrying crude oil caught fire and exploded 1 a.m. Saturday, destroying the majority of a small town in Canada.
At least five people were reported dead and around 40 are missing. The town, called Lac-Megantic, is about 130 miles east of Quebec.
According to Reuters, the freight train was parked outside the town without a driver and started rolling down a hill. Four of the cars were each carrying 30,000 gallons of crude oil. They immediately caught fire and exploded, destroying at least 30 buildings.
The 80-car-long freight train was transporting crude oil from North Dakota to eastern Canada when the event took place.
ABC News reported the spokesman for the Quebec Provincial Police, Sgt. Gregory Gomez del Prado, described other complications from the accident.
"There's the smoke that could cause a hazard to the people in the area, of course the water will also be a problem because of the fact that there was some crude oil and the fact that the crude oil has been leaking in the environment and the lake nearby," Gomez del Prado said.
The entire town was quickly evacuated, which is about 1,000 people.