LAC-MÉGANTIC, QUE.—Police say they have found bodies of nearly half the victims that they expect to find in the Lac-Mégantic train disaster, and have identified the first victim as 93-year-old Eliane Parenteau.

The news Thursday gives a small measure of comfort to families of the victims that they will be able to bury their loved one in the coming week.

Sûreté du Québec Inspector Michel Forget said the investigation of the devastated area in downtown Lac-Mégantic is proceeding well, and search crews have been able to sift through 50 per cent of the area.

The remaining half he described as the most complex part of the investigation. It is an oil-soaked pile of rubble from which they will be looking for evidence of a crime, as well as human remains.

Parenteau, the first of the identified victims, was identified by a metal plate on her hip, her son told the Journal de Montréal.

“She is gone for good. There is no longer any doubt,” Michel Boulanger told the paper.

Geneviève Guilbault, a spokesperson for the coroner’s office, said the first positive identification bodes well for the work to come, and there are expectations of more positive identifications in the days to come.

As for the police investigation, police say they have met so far with 100 witnesses so far, including Montreal, Maine & Atlantic chairman Edward Burkhardt, who was questioned by investigators “for a good period of time,” Forget said.

But he would not disclose any more details on what has been labelled a “crime scene,” where there are suspicions that a criminal act — likely negligence — occurred.

On a brief visit to Lac-Mégantic on Wednesday Burkhardt told reporters that the train’s engineer has been suspended without pay and will probably be fired over the accident. He also suggested that the engineer did not adequately apply the hand brakes when he parked the train for the night in nearby Nantes, which should have prevented the unattended train from barrelling 12 kilometres down the tracks into Lac-Mégantic at speeds of more than 100 km/h.

The federal government is also fast-tracking employment insurance claims for those who are unable to work or whose places of employment no longer exist.

Burkhardt’s poor standing in this lakeside community was cemented Thursday during a visit by Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, who called his handling of the disaster “absolutely deplorable.”

She said the Chicago-based head of the company should have established a presence on the ground earlier than the five days it took for him to arrive in town, and that he should have taken better steps to communicate how his company intends to respond to the accident.

“It is absolutely deplorable,” Marois said of Burkhardt, who made an appearance in Lac-Mégantic before leaving Thursday. “He should have been here since the beginning.”

Marois, who first visited the town on Sunday, announced her government would provide $60 million towards the recovery effort, money that would go toward individual assistance, aid to the municipal government, to help entrepreneurs who have lost valuable business because of the disaster and to rebuild infrastructure in the town.

But she also said she is waiting to see how the federal government responds to the disaster. Marois noted that Ottawa is responsible for rail transport in the country and has a funding formula for disaster relief.

Marois cautioned the Harper government, though: “It’s their responsibility, but it’s our land,” she said.

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Federal Industry Minister Christian Paradis, who represents the region in the Conservative government, said Ottawa is awaiting a provincial evaluation of Lac-Mégantic’s specific needs before putting a dollar figure on financial assistance.

“Once received we will act swiftly and efficiently to ensure help is delivered to those who need it,” he said in a statement.

The federal government is also fast-tracking employment insurance claims for those who are unable to work or whose places of employment no longer exist.

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