Mass held near site of Quebec propane explosion as three remain missing

By The Canadian Press on January 15, 2023.

SAINT-ROCH-DE-L’ACHIGAN, Que. – A solidarity mass is underway in a town north of Montreal where three people remain missing following a fire and explosion at a propane distribution company.

Several hundred people were in the pews of the local church as the ceremony began just after 10:30 in St-Roch-de-l’Achigan, Que., about 50 kilometres north of Montreal.

Two employees and a subcontractor are still missing as provincial police continue to investigate Thursday’s blast with the help of police arson technicians.

The local fire department received calls Thursday morning 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.

Police have said they do not believe the explosion was a criminal act but have not established what caused it, adding winter weather and the state of the site has complicated the search for victims.

Claude Ritchie, the parish priest involved in today’s mass, said ahead of the service that the town is close-knit and many people know each other.

In the wake of a tragedy, “You cannot do many things, but this thing we can do: to be there and tell people they are not alone,” he said.

“That we consider their pain, their sorrow, their sadness. We share all this together.”