Police find 3 bodies at site of Quebec propane company explosion

Quebec provincial police have found the bodies of three people at the site of last Thursday's explosion at a Quebec propane company north of Montreal.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) confirmed the people's remains were found Monday in St-Roch-de-l'Achigan, where the explosion happened. 

The remains are believed to belong to workers associated with the company, and they have been taken to a lab to be formally identified.

Police had been searching for two workers and a sub-contractor who went missing after the blast rocked the small municipality 50 kilometres north of Montreal.

Investigators have said they do not believe the explosion was a criminal act, but the difficult work is ongoing, hampered by heavy snow that buried the site.

"We had to remove snow just to look at the debris, take pictures, see if we could find evidence that could help us to solve or find… what caused this explosion," explained said SQ spokesperson Eloise Cossette, at the site Tuesday morning. "So it's work that takes a long time, we have to do it precisely and it’s going to last another couple of days."

The bodies will be sent to a forensics lab Montreal to be formally identified. 

The tragic discovery comes one day after the small community came together for prayer at a mass at the local church, still reeling from the horrific incident.

People embrace during a mass in Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Que., Sunday, January 15, 2023, in memory of the victims of a propane explosion just outside the town on Thursday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The explosion happened at 11:17 a.m. Thursday at Propane Lafortune, a family-run company that offers propane services in Quebec's Lanaudière region.

Around 50 firefighters were called to extinguish the blaze and dozens of homes were evacuated due to the fire.

It's too early to say what caused the blast. However, experts are investigating the possibility that a truck inside the facility's garage exploded.

FAMILIES CAN BEGIN TO MOURN: MAYOR

The city council in St-Roch-de-l'Achigan held a moment of silence just before it held a pre-scheduled meeting Monday night. 

Just before the meeting, the mayor of St-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Sébastien Marcil, spoke of the "relief" the victims' families and the community are feeling now that the four-day search came to an end.

"We are now getting closer to a sort of mourning," Marcil said in an interview.

Members at the St-Roch-de-l'Achigan City Hall observe a moment of silence before a meeting on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. (Cosmo Santamaria/CTV News)

He said he expects residents will soon be able to put some names and faces to the "horrible tragedy" once the victims are formally identified.

"As a village, we are like a family here and with this tragedy, the only acceptable way of facing those kinds of tragedies is to get together and just -- solidarity -- and facing it like a family, together," the mayor said.

- With files from The Canadian Press