Maclean’s has a one-year retrospective photo essay on the derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, one year ago.
Last July, a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed in downtown Lac-Mégantic, Que., and exploded, horrifically. The disaster killed 47 people and left a pile of twisted, burning metal in what remained of the town’s core. Martin Patriquin revisited the tragedy a year on and spoke to townspeople who are struggling to recover. “We aren’t enraged. Only terrorists get enraged. We are builders,” said Raymond Lafontaine, who lost three family members in the disaster and runs a local construction business.
Photographer Will Lew went to Lac-Mégantic, a town slowly recovering from the aftermath of Canada’s deadliest rail disaster. His photos revisiting scenes of devastation capture a gradual return to normalcy.
The photos are split, so you can move the slider to see the before-and-after images.
The front page of Le Journal de Montréal, courtesy of Newseum, with one of the most dramatic photos of the tragedy:
