The company behind the runaway oil train which exploded and killed almost 50 people in a small Canadian town has filed for bankruptcy protection after coming under pressure to pay for the disaster clearup.
Montreal, Main and Atlantic filed for bankruptcy in both Canada and the USA as it looks to protect assets for potential sale.
The company said its total monthly revenues had dropped to around $1million in the wake of the fatal crash after the line between Quebec and Maine was shut.
“It has become apparent that the obligations of both companies now exceed the value of their assets, including prospective insurance recoveries, as a direct result of the tragic derailment at Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 6,” the company’s chairman, Ed Burkhardt said.
47 people were killed after a driverless train containing millions of litres of crude oil derailed in the centre of Lac-Megantic last month, before several of the oil tankers exploded, flattening the centre of the town.
Quebec’s government has ordered the rail company, along with oil seller World Fuel Services, to pick up the costs of cleaning up the 5.6million litres of oil thought to have spilled during the accident, after paying more than $7million itself in clear-up costs.
Canada’s transportation agency is also seeking confirmation that the rail company has insurance for its operations in the country in the wake of the disaster.