A judge is listening to exemption requests from prospective jurors at the trial of three men charged in the rail disaster that killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Que.
Superior Court Justice Gaetan Dumas has received requests from a long line of people who do not want to take part in the bilingual trial, which is expected to last until December.
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Most cited school, work, loss of income and health concerns as reasons for not being able to sit as jurors.
A few people broke down in tears in front of the judge, saying they knew one or more of the victims who died on July 6, 2013, after a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed in the Quebec community and exploded.
WATCH BELOW: The disaster at Lac-Megantic
Dumas accepted the majority of the requests for exemption.
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Three ex-railway employees – train driver Thomas Harding, railway traffic controller Richard Labrie and manager of train operations Jean Demaitre – each face one charge of criminal negligence causing the death of 47 people.