By The Canadian Press on September 24, 2023.
Montreal police say a man has died and two others were injured after the partial collapse of a building on Saturday afternoon. Firefighters discovered the body of the man about 10:15 p.m. in the rubble of the building in the Montréal-Nord borough. Authorities say the concrete slab of the ground floor of the building collapsed just before 4 p.m. in a section where work was possibly underway. Firefighters discovered the victims in the basement of the building and an ambulance crew declared the death at the scene. Marie-Ève Beausoleil, a section chief at the Montreal Fire Department, says the front of the building was uninhabited due to a fire a few years ago, but renovations may have been taking place as building materials were present. The occupants of 10 apartments and two businesses at the rear of the building were temporarily forced from their homes until a structural engineer deems it safe for them to return. As there was a death, Montreal police and the province’s workers health and safety commission will investigate the circumstances surrounding the event and whether the three male victims were workers. 8