Nearly two years after the Lac-Mégantic oil train explosion killed 47 people and levelled the small Quebec town, the Canadian government has laid new criminal charges, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported today. Six former employees of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, including the train engineer and the top executive, face charges under the Railway Safety Act and Fisheries Act for their alleged roles in the worst Canadian rail disaster in modern times. The bankrupt company itself has also been charged. The Canadian government said that the accused failed to ensure that the brakes were properly set on the unattended train of 63 oil tank cars that rolled down a hill in the early morning of July 6, 2013, before crashing in a series of explosions that destroyed 40 buildings and killed people in their sleep or as they enjoyed a night out in the village.
