1 dead after oil train derails in Quebec Updated 5:03 PM ET LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec A train carrying crude oil derailed Saturday in eastern Quebec, sparking several explosions and a blaze that destroyed the center of the town of Lac-Megantic and killed at least one person. An unspecified number of people were reported missing. Witnesses said the eruptions sent local residents scrambling through the streets under the intense heat of towering fireballs and a red glow that illuminated the night sky. Quebec provincial police Lt. Michel Brunet confirmed that one person had died. He refused to say how many others might be dead, but said authorities have been told "many" people have been reported missing. Up to 1,000 people were forced from their homes in the middle of the night in the town, which is about 155 miles east of Montreal and about 10 miles west of the Maine border. The derailment caused several tanker rail cars to explode in the downtown core, a popular area known for its bars that is often bustling on summer weekend nights. Police said the first explosion tore through the town shortly after 1 a.m. The fire spread to a number of homes in the lakeside town of 6,000 people, and witnesses said the flames shot up highter than the steeple on a nearby church. Flames and billowing black smoke could be seen more than 12 hours after the derailment, which involved a 73-car train.