Netflix bosses agree to pull real-life train disaster footage from Bird Box

Bosses at streaming site Netflix have agreed to replace footage of a real-life Canadian rail disaster from hit Sandra Bullock movie Bird Box.

It was confirmed back in January (19) that the thriller contained a news clip from the deadly 2013 Lac-Megantic tragedy, which claimed the lives of 45 people.

Netflix bosses initially stated they would not substitute the footage in question, but it now appears they have had a change of heart.

In a statement to the BBC on Thursday (14Mar19), a company spokesman wrote: "We're sorry for any pain caused to the Lac-Megantic community."

Homes and businesses in Quebec were destroyed when a train carrying crude oil derailed in the town of Lac-Megantic.

Julie Morin, the mayor of Lac-Megantic previously requested a clip of video of the tragedy be removed from the post-apocalyptic drama, telling The Canadian Press, "We are looking for assurances from Netflix that they are going to remove it (the footage). You can be sure we are going to follow up on this, and our citizens are on our side.

"It's hard enough for our citizens to see these images when they are used normally and respectfully on the news. Just imagine, to have them used as fiction, as if they were invented."

The offending clip, which lasts just a few seconds, appears early on in the film when Bullock's character Malorie is browsing TV news channels airing reports of a wave of "unexplained mass suicides" sweeping the world.

Film of the disaster has also been used in another Netflix project, the science-fiction series Travelers, whose executive producer Carrie Mudd apologised and promised to remove the footage.

Responding to Netflix's decision to replace the footage in Bird Box, Quebec's culture minister Nathalie Roy tweeted: "This demonstrates that by staying united and working together, anything is possible."