LAC-MÉGANTIC, Que. — A popular Musi-Café and bar was among many buildings destroyed during Saturday’s freight-train explosion in Lac-Megantic, Que.

The bar was at the heart of the explosion, which was reportedly caused by the derailment of a freight train loaded with oil.

“The fire started very quickly,” Bernard Théberge, a patron Le Musi-Café, was quoted as saying by the National Post. “For a few seconds, I said, ‘There are people inside. What should we do? Do we go in after them?’ There was a wall of fire. The heat was too intense. I realized people were not going to get out.”

Since the tragedy, the bar’s Facebook page has been flooded with dozens of sympathy messages.

News outlets report that five people are confirmed dead and 40 people were still missing as a result of the explosion.