A first victim was extricated from the heritage building of Place d’Youville, which was ravaged by a fire, Thursday in Old Montreal. Six other people are still missing.
“We managed to extricate a first victim at 6:45 p.m.,” confirmed the commander of the Arson Section of the Montreal Police Service, Steve Belzil, during a press briefing late Sunday evening.
“The steps to identify this victim will be taken by our partners in the forensic scientific laboratory and forensic medicine,” he added.
This is the first confirmed death since the fire. Six other people are still missing.
For his part, the division chief of the Montreal Fire Department (SIM), Martin Guilbault, said that the preparation work for the dismantling of the 2nd and 3rd floors began on Sunday afternoon.
“The dismantling of the building is required to provide safe access to the fire scene for SPVM investigators, responders from the Fire Safety Department as well as people from the forensic science and forensic medicine laboratory,” explained Mr Guilbault.
The SPVM specifies that it is still too early to confirm the cause of the fire.