A 39-year-old father and his two young children under the age of three died in the explosion of a residence on Monday in Jonquière, Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean.
• Read also: Saguenay: at least two dead in a powerful explosion in Arvida
One of the victims is said to be Dérick Lalancette, the owner of the house located on Dubose Street, in the Arvida district.
Photo QMI Agency, Roger Gagnon
An explosion occurred Monday at a residence on Dubose Street in Arvida. One of the victims is said to be Dérick Lalancette, the owner of the house.
Authorities confirm that her children, one of whom was only a few months old, lost their lives in this terrible tragedy.
The Sûreté du Québec, which is leading the investigation to understand what caused the explosion, confirmed the third death on Tuesday.
Photo from Facebook
Dérick Lalancette
On social media, messages of sympathy abound for the mother of the two little victims.
“It’s a tragic story,” said Dérick Lalancette’s sister. The latter did not want to comment on the possible causes. “It’s too early yet,” she said.
Deceased before?
However, according to several testimonies, the mother and the father had not been together for a few weeks. A coroner went to the site on Tuesday to confirm the identity of the victims.
Photo QMI Agency, Roger Gagnon
The rubble and the unstable structure complicate the investigation, says coroner Francine Danais.
Her job is obviously to know the cause of death and she wants in particular to be sure of an important element.
“We must determine whether the people were alive at the time of the explosion or whether they were dead,” explains the coroner.
The company collaborates
The thesis of the planned gesture is also studied. Dérick Lalancette was a miner at the Niobec factory in Saint-Honoré, where precious metals are extracted by exploding the basement. Investigators pay particular attention to the company where the worker could have obtained explosives.
Photo QMI Agency, Roger Gagnon
The management of the Niobec mine reacted by statement to confirm that the man was an employee of the mine and that it “fully cooperates” with the authorities.
“The management of Niobec says it is deeply saddened to learn of the incident that has occurred”, it is written.
The missing man’s work team did not come to work on Monday evening, when employees spoke of “shock waves” at the mine.
Photo QMI Agency, Roger Gagnon
Faced with an unimaginable situation for those close to them, the author and specialist in grief management Lynne Pion suggests reassuring the children who have heard of this tragedy.
“Let them know that they are safe with you, that you love them. Answer their questions easily, without too much detail. We use real words to avoid trivializing. “
Photo QMI Agency, Roger Gagnon
– With Jean-François Racine and Catherine Bouchard