'Bricks versus bodies': Father agonizes over pace of recovery efforts in old Montreal fire
'Bricks versus bodies': Father agonizes over pace of recovery efforts in old Montreal fire
As the search for victims of a five-alarm fire in Old Montreal stretched into its fifth day on Tuesday, friends and family members are getting frustrated with the pace of the investigation and lack of answers.
Mazhar Khan arrived in Montreal over the weekend in the hopes of getting access to the remains of his daughter, Saniya Khan, 31, but was told search efforts could be several days or longer.
He's desperate to see the search efforts move quicker into the devastating fire at the heritage building on Port Street, which firefighters have said will have to be taken down "stone by stone."
"My personal feeling is it's about bricks versus bodies. All that they care about, they're more concerned about saving the bricks," Khan told CTV News from Toronto.
"So what about bodies? What about people? That's my question. They don't care about the bodies … our children, they are our flesh and blood."
What Khan described as a "spontaneous" trip to Montreal his daughter took with her childhood friend has turned into a nightmare for his family.
Saniya is the eldest of four siblings and a master's student in public health at Wayne State University in Detroit. Her father said she and her childhood friend, Dania Zafar, booked an Airbnb at the building at the centre of the deadly fire.
Zafar, 31, is also reported missing, according to Khan and the consul general at the Pakistani consulate in Montreal.
Childhood friends Dania Zafar, 32, and Saniya Khan, 32, were both staying at the same Airbnb in Old Montreal and are reported missing. (Submitted photo)
Khan hasn't heard from either of the young women since Wednesday morning and both of their phones go straight to voice mail, he said.
"It's agonizing," he said from his friend's home in Toronto, where he is staying until he returns to Montreal.
"It's hurting also. Every moment we are thinking about her, we are talking about her. So at least we are supposed to have a body so that we can, you know, bury it in a decent manner. That's what she deserves. But we're not getting any answers to that, actually, when and how."
Saniya Khan, 32, is one of six people who are still missing after last week's deadly fire in Old Montreal. (Submitted photo)
Police said Tuesday morning there were still six people missing following the fire last Thursday. As of Tuesday evening, the bodies of two people, one of whom is a woman, have been recovered from the rubbled. Neither of them has been identified. The blaze injured nine other people, two of them critically.
Khan said he came back to Detroit to support his family but has since decided to stay close by, in Toronto, in case there is any news about his daughter.
"I'm just waiting as soon as they call me. So I'll be there," he said.
Khan said he expected he'd need to provide a DNA sample to assist in the investigation, but said no progress has been made on that front.
"We will not be able to give names very fast, but we cannot make a mistake," said Insp. David Shane, who recognized that the wait could feel "unbearable" for family members.
"We cannot give a name and then a few days later realize that we made a mistake. That is not an option."
A spokeswoman for the province's forensics laboratory told The Canadian Press the process to identify victims could also be complex, and could rely in part on DNA, which will be matched to samples provided by the victims' families. The coroner's office will also be involved in the investigation and the identification of victims.
Jonathan Clark, who lives in New York, came to Montreal to say goodbye to Saniya, his dear friend Khan, whom he referred to as his "twin flame."
"Everything that is good is going to remind me of her. Everything that is joyful. That is the hardest part,” Clark said as tears slid down his face.
Clark said both women “were very young, very bright, beautiful, living life."
The pace of the investigation is also causing heartache for other loved ones who are desperate for answers.
"They ask me lots of things, but once I try to ask them anything about what's happening, like, for example, why they are so sure only six people are missing, the only answer I get is, 'Oh, it’s under investigation,'" said Yuken Zeng, a friend of one of the missing people, 31-year-old An Wu.
Zeng flew to Montreal on Monday looking for answers about his friend.
Charlie Lacroix, 18, has also been identified by her father as one of the missing occupants of the building.
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston is being questioned by MPs at committee about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should see to it that mass murderers serve their entire sentences in maximum-security prison.
The number of interactions between killer whales and humans has increased alarmingly in recent years. CTVNews.ca asked an expert to explain the reasons behind the increase in interactions, explore the types of encounters, and examine the implications for both humans and killer whales.
The PGA Tour ended its expensive fight with Saudi Arabia's golf venture and now is joining forces with it, making a stunning announcement Tuesday of a merger that creates a commercial operation with the Public Investment Fund and the European tour.
An internal document suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants China kept out of a Pacific Rim trade bloc, despite the Liberals publicly insisting it would welcome anyone who meets the trade deal's standards.
The federal government has given an updated deal to a public-service union that signed its collective agreement in the fall in order to match deals reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada during a strike this spring.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Hammonds Plains Road reopened to traffic early Tuesday morning more than week after wildfires began in the Halifax area. Officials say the fires in the area are contained, though crews continue to deal with hot spots and flare ups.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Marking the two year anniversary of the alleged terror attack that took the lives of four members of the same family, the board has announced an Anti-Islamophobia Strategy.
On this day in 2021, four out of five members of a London, Ont. family were killed while they were out for a walk and struck by a vehicle, in an apparently deliberate attack.
An investigation is underway after a crash between a car and a transport truck on Tuesday morning. It happened around 9 a.m. on Highbury Avenue near Ron McNeil Line, north of St. Thomas.
While firefighters get more forest fires under control in northern Ontario, travel restrictions declared under an emergency order are being expanded in several communities.
A 13-year-old male from Elliot Lake in northern Ontario has been charged with sexual assault again, bringing the total to 10, after another survivor came forward.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it has safely restarted a portion of its production that was shut down because of the threat of wildfires in northern and central Alberta.
The provincial wildfire service is warning British Columbians to have a go-bag and make an evacuation plan with this year's wildfire season off to an alarming start.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
Real estate experts say B.C.’s housing market is heating back after cooling off due to rising interest rates but the future is uncertain as several economists expect the Bank of Canada to hike rates again.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
Mounties in the town of McLennan, Alta. are hoping members of the public can help them identify two men who tried to steal a bank machine from the local ATB Financial.
Mounties in Peace River Alta. are asking residents to check their "businesses, homes, sheds and outbuildings" for any sign of 13-year-old Rocky Conrad Cardinal.
It’s been 79 years since the war effort known as ‘D-Day,’ which eventually led to the liberation of western Europe during World War II. The day was marked with a service in Normandy with the Royal Regina Rifles on hand.
A special air quality statement remains in effect for the National Capital Region because of wildfire smoke blowing across the region. Environment Canada's air quality health index is at its highest level of risk.
The wildfire burning at Centennial Lake, about 150 km west of Ottawa is still not under control, but the local mayor says it has been significantly reduced.
The federal government has given an updated deal to a public-service union that signed its collective agreement in the fall in order to match deals reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada during a strike this spring.
While Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) publicly mulled moving its downtown emergency shelter to a location on 20th Street near the city's core, city documents reveal the wellness centre's present Fairhaven area location was heavily favoured early in the process.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Childhood friends Dania Zafar, 32, and Saniya Khan, 32, were both staying at the same Airbnb in Old Montreal and are reported missing. (Submitted photo)
Saniya Khan, 32, is one of six people who are still missing after last week's deadly fire in Old Montreal. (Submitted photo)
