Police search for answers at ‘vast’ Quebec explosion site where three found dead

By The Canadian Press on January 17, 2023.

MONTREAL – Investigators are still combing through the site of a fire and explosion at a Quebec propane company north of Montreal to determine the cause of last week’s fatal blast.

Provincial police spokeswoman Éloïse Cossette says officials are dealing with a vast scene complicated by snow, hazardous materials and objects that were projected far from the scene.

Police announced late Monday they had found the remains of three people missing since last Thursday’s explosion at Propane Lafortune, in St-Roch-de-l’Achigan, Que., about 50 kilometres north of Montreal.

The remains are believed to belong to workers associated with the company, and they have been taken to a lab to be formally identified.

Cossette says investigators with the police’s major crimes division are still searching for answers about what caused the blast.

She says several other organizations are also investigating the fire and explosion, including the coroner’s office, the province’s workplace health and safety commission and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2023.

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