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LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec — The railway at the centre of North America’s deadliest train accident in more than 20 years has laid off a number of people in Maine and Quebec, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

The staffing cutbacks at the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) come 11 days after a runaway train hauling 72 tanker cars of crude oil derailed and exploded in the center of Lac-Megantic, killing some 50 people and levelling the heart of the small town.

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“This is because of the track being broken at Lac-Megantic,” Cathy Aldana, a vice president at Rail World Inc, the parent company of MMA, told Reuters. “The intent is to rehire the employees when the line is open again.”

Aldana could not confirm how many employees were affected by the layoffs, but Canadian media outlets, citing union sources, reported that 19 people were laid off in Quebec alone.

A Quebec union representative was not immediately available for comment.