Type of tank car in Canadian derailment may have made accident worse
NTSB identified “inadequate design” after 2009 derailment
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that the type of tank car involved in the recent Canadian train derailment and inferno be retrofitted or phased out of use because it was unsafe, according to Board records.
The death toll in the July 7 accident in Lac-Megantic, Quebec accident stands at 33, although 17 people are still missing and presumed dead. The train, which was carrying oil, came loose from its overnight parking spot and traveled seven miles downhill before derailing on a curve and crashing into a number of buildings, erupting into a fireball.