Canadian Train Wreck: Was it sabotage?

By now, perhaps you’ve heard the tragic news that Lac-Mégantic – a small town with a population of 6000 in the Canadian province of Quebec, 155 miles (250km) from Montreal – has been devastated by a petrochemical explosion & fire subsequent to a train derailment in that town. Thirteen people are confirmed dead, and 50 are missing… their bodies possibly vaporized by the intense heat of the 72-car blast.

According to officials, some of whom remain unnamed, the train’s engineer was taking his required sleep break in a nearby motel, when, again, according to authorities, the train’s brakes “failed,” which then caused the train to begin rolling unabated for nearly 7 miles (11km) before crashing & burning.

In a related news item this morning, Edward Burkhardt, Chairman of the Board of Rail World Inc., and Chairman of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway – the parent company of the railroad firm which owns the train – said

Meteorite Strikes Remote Russian City, Injures Over 1100, Damages Buildings – Video, Pictures

Attached below is 1.) a composite video of the meteorite that struck in Russia today, and; 2.) a Google Earth picture of the location of the city where it struck.

Where in Russia was it?

Chelyabinsk, Russia

Where’s that?

Latitude:  55° 9’48.21″N
Longitude:  61°24’8.78″E

Okay… where’s that?

Look for the Caspian Sea, then go NORTH, and slightly EAST.
(See the Google Earth picture attached below, and look for the YELLOW push pin which marks the city.)

Russian meteorite site GoogleEarth_Image

And just as a point of clarification…

METEOR: a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light.

METEORITE: a meteor that survives its passage through the earth’s atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground.

Here’s a