Two employees and a subcontractor of Propane Lafortune are still missing in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan, the day after a fire and explosions that blew up the buildings of this small propane distribution company. The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, went to the scene on Friday, visibly shaken by this “immeasurable tragedy”.
“It’s a very difficult scene to see, which shows that it was a whole explosion that occurred,” explained Mr. Bonnardel at a press conference.
The three people who are still missing are two employees and a subcontractor of the propane production company, revealed Isabelle Lafortune, co-owner of Propane Lafortune, who spoke to the media for the first time since the tragedy. , surrounded by other members of his family.
The authorities have not confirmed the names of the victims, but several sources indicate that one of the missing persons is Céline Pilon, secretary of the company. This information was confirmed by the family of Mr.me Pestle.
Another victim was an employee who was in training, according to some sources.
PHOTO PIERRE LAURENT, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The scene of the explosion
Sobbing in the voice, Mme Lafortune offered his condolences to the families of the victims. She pointed out that psychological help was available to employees of the company, but only made a statement without answering questions from the media.
Support is also offered to the families of the victims, who have all been met, said Sergeant Éloïse Cossette, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec. “The SQ assistance module and the interveners are in contact with the families to provide them with the necessary help and support,” she said. We are aware that what they are going through is not easy. »
In order to facilitate the search to find the missing persons as well as the investigation into the cause of the accident, the SQ is also considering the installation of a marquee above the destroyed buildings, said Ms.me Cossette. A priori, the criminal thesis seems ruled out, police sources told AFP. The Press. The Laboratory of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine of Quebec, a paragovernmental organization, will participate in the investigation.
A moved mayor, complex research
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Sébastien Marcil, mayor of Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan
For his visit to the site, Minister François Bonnardel was accompanied by his colleague Caroline Proulx, responsible for the Lanaudière region, and the Member of Parliament for Rousseau, Louis-Charles Thouin. Everyone seemed shaken while the mayor of the municipality, Sébastien Marcil, spoke with emotion of the great solidarity that was shown in the village, and throughout Quebec, following the tragedy.
“It’s very difficult, what is happening now, because there is a wait,” said Mr. Marcil, who was struggling to hold back his tears when speaking to the media. ” The wait is long. But we thank all Quebecers for their outpouring of solidarity with the municipality. It means a lot to me as mayor. »
Reached by telephone, the mayor clarified on Friday that the search operations had been put on hold, the time to let the snow pass which complicates the operations too much. “They put tarpaulins on the site. The level of complexity is also high due to the presence of a contaminant. Experts prefer to be sure they know all the products there, but hope to start research tomorrow [ce samedi] “, he detailed to The Press.
A heavy explosion was first heard – and felt – for miles around, Thursday around 11 a.m. A fire had spread through the company-owned propane depot, causing explosions. The building was completely destroyed.
The scene had been entrusted, late Thursday evening, to investigators specializing in the scene of fire and to those of the major crimes department of the SQ, who had then started preliminary research “oriented towards the search for potential victims”, had indicated the Sergeant Eloise Cossette. “We know that this expertise work will continue over several days, since it’s a big scene, and of course, we have to do a meticulous job. We will also have to deal with the weather conditions which could slow down our work, ”she added.
According to our sources, the owners of the business, the Lafortune family, were not on the scene at the time of the accident. However, employees or customers were on site.
Of rare complexity
The fire was of rare complexity, with risks of explosion and environmental contamination, which prevented emergency services from coming to the aid of people caught in the rubble, citizens said. In addition to that of the MRC de Montcalm, four other fire safety services, those of Repentigny, Rawdon, Sainte-Julienne and Saint-Lin-Laurentides, had been called in to help fight the flames.
“The father of one of my daughter’s friends was the first to arrive on the scene,” Steve Durocher, who lives less than 200 meters from the scene of the fire, testified Thursday in an interview with The Press. “He saw an employee come out screaming for help, and then finally it all happened to her. He is in shock. »
His assertion has been corroborated by several testimonies circulating on social networks. “There are deaths, that’s for sure. We could hear screaming before it collapsed… the firefighters weren’t there and it was already too hot, ”wrote Jonathan Marquis on Facebook in particular.
Propane Lafortune was founded in 1955. The company is now managed by Isabelle, Karine and Michaël, the children of the former manager, Claude Lafortune. Well known in the village, the family said Thursday in a press release to be “deeply upset by the events”.