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Police allow media into Lac-Megantic red zone

July 16, 2013, Lac-Megantic, Que. – The still-scorching inner core of Lac-Megantic has been opened up today for the first public viewing of what witnesses have likened to a "war zone."

News media were allowed for the first time Tuesday to observe and gather images inside the security perimeter.

Until now, access has been limited to authorities and a few politicians – including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had compared it to a site ravaged by war.

The close-up, hour-long tour revealed a scene worse than imagined and gave an idea of just how much destruction the oil tankers wrought on the centre of the town.

A busload of journalists were taken to witness flattened buildings, twisted heaps of metal, and trees reduced to sticks of charcoal.

The rail tankers, once filled with crude oil, were misshapen and piled together, still steaming with heat more than a week after the explosions.

Authorities said the temperature at the site could still be 10 to 20 degrees hotter than the surrounding area, which is already in the midst of a heat wave.

Police said they wanted the broader public to see what happened to the site.

"The first objective was to render, as accurately as possible, to the Megantic community these images," said provincial police Insp. Michel Forget.

"(Another objective was to) also see the scope of the work and what's behind us."

Police gave strict instructions about what images could be shown for fear of upsetting the families of victims, or compromising the investigation.

Only one TV video journalist, one web video journalist, and one photographer were allowed inside the perimeter.

The images and details gathered this morning will now be released to the public.

Forget made it clear that journalists were not actually inside the so-called "red zone" – the epicentre of the blast – but taken inside the closed-off area to record images of it from the edges.

Forensic crews are working to retrieve bodies, identify victims, and gather evidence for a variety of criminal and non-criminal investigations.

Fifty people are believed to have been killed; 37 bodies have been recovered so far.