( CNN ) -- At least one person died and others were reported missing after a train pulling more than 70 tankers of crude oil derailed and burst into flames in eastern Canada near the U.S. border , CNN affiliates reported , citing authorities . The train jumped the tracks in the small town of Lac-Megantic in the province of Quebec , officials said Saturday . The inferno spread to nearby homes , and authorities evacuated the center of town and a home for the elderly , CNN affiliate Radio-Canada reported . Thick fuel spilled into the Chaudiere River . `` Words can not tell the damage that had been done , '' Quebec provincial police Sgt . Gregory Gomez del Prado said , according to CNN affiliate CTV . `` Many , many buildings have been damaged . It 's a catastrophe for the town of course , but also for the whole province . '' The sergeant declined to say exactly many people were missing . `` We have several people we are looking for . We do expect casualties , '' he told CNN on Saturday night . The train was parked and secured late Friday in Nantes , just west of Lac-Megantic , a company representative said , CTV reported . Joe McGonigle , a vice president at Montreal , Maine & Atlantic , was quoted as saying the train `` came loose '' early Saturday and `` started rolling down the tracks . '' The Nantes and Lac-Megantic town centers are about 12 kilometers ( 7 miles ) apart . McGonigle said the train 's engine was found near the site of the inferno . McGonigle said police were questioning the train 's conductor , who was at a hotel in Lac-Megantic when the train derailed . CNN affiliate CTV referred to the crash site as a `` war zone '' and it said no other injuries have been reported . Emergency officials say some people may have been away when the derailment occurred . Authorities were investigating . `` Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those affected by this morning 's tragic train derailment and subsequent fires , '' Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said . `` We hope evacuees can return to their homes safely and quickly . The people of Lac-Megantic and surrounding areas can rest assured that our government is monitoring the situation and we stand by ready to provide any assistance requested by the province . '' Firefighters from the United States helped Canada fight the blaze . Five of the trucks deployed from the United States , after the sheriff 's office in Franklin County , Maine , issued an `` all call '' for help to U.S. fire departments near the border . Flames welling up stories high into the night sky were caught on camera and uploaded to YouTube . The video appears to reveal an explosion . Thick black smoke billowed into the air . A `` nauseating '' odor spread through the town , Radio-Canada reported , and environmental emergency services dispatched a mobile lab to check for airborne toxins . The radio station said that the oil shipment was on its way to the United States . CNN 's Joe Sterling , Pierre Meilhan , Darrell Calhoun , Jake Carpenter , Ben Brumfield , Dave Alsup and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report .
NEW : Several people reported missing , police say . Firefighters from the U.S. and Canada rush to fight the blaze . Flames climb stories high into the sky and spread to homes . Fuel spills into the river running past the town .