The engineer blamed for causing a deadly train derailment in a Canadian town is now being hailed by some as a hero for his actions after the accident.

The train came off its tracks and exploded into a huge fireball on Saturday, destroying the centre of the town of Lac-Megantic in Quebec province.Police fear 50 people have died as a result of the accident, with 20 confirmed dead and 30 still unaccounted for.Tom Harding has been vilified for allegedly failing to properly set the brakes on the oil-laden train.But there are now reports that Mr Harding helped prevent a greater disaster by driving heavy machinery into the town after the accident.Two witnesses - Jaqcques Gagnon and Luc Vandewalle - say they saw him detach several oil-carrying rail cars that had not exploded.