Three victims found in St-Roch-de-l’Achigan blast site
Posted January 16, 2023 6:56 pm.
Last Updated January 17, 2023 6:32 pm.
Early Monday night, Quebec provincial police announced that they located the three victims of the St-Roch-de-l’Achigan explosion last week.
SQ have been searching the rubble of the Propane Lafortune building since the blast last Thursday.
Authorities had said winter weather and the state of the site made it more complicated to find the victims.
They have yet to officially release their identities.
On Sunday, hundreds gathered for mass in the town, about 50 kilometres north of Montreal – in solidarity with the families of three people who died in the explosion.
Two employees and a subcontractor were still missing as provincial police continued to comb through the site with the help of police arson technicians and forensics specialists.
Mayor Sebastien Marcil, who spoke at the service, said the small town is like a family that since Thursday has been “missing some of its members.”
He described the wait for answers as “unbearable” for the loved ones of the missing people.
“You can’t imagine how hard it is to not have news about people you love for three days, knowing there’s an explosion and the people you know are there,” said Marcil.
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The local fire department received calls the morning of Jan. 12 about an explosion and fire at Propane Lafortune, but the risk of further explosions forced firefighters to retreat and they were only able to bring the blaze under control in the evening.
With files from the Canadian Press
