16 Dead, 16 Missing after a Week since Fatal Quebec Senior Homes’ Fire

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The investigators scratching the burned-out wreckage of the Résidence du Havre are tasked to carefully inspect the leftover debris of the Quebec seniors’ homeland and alert the coroners’ office and a forensic team in case they discover even a possibility of human remains. Meanwhile, less relevant items are pushed aside and scraped, shovelled or carried farther to one of several piles surrounding the building.

According to the updated statistics provided by the authorities, sixteen people are confirmed dead which leaves another 16 missing, but officials are still combing through the icy wreckage. An estimate of more than 50 member team including firefighters, police and investigators from the coroners’ office are working 10 to 12 hours every day. A spokeswoman for the Quebec provincial police, Martine Asselin, explained that same workers return each day to ensure continuity. She elaborated that “it’s very precise work that they need to do,” and explained that they are “going through everything that was in the room… We saw some freezers, we saw some washing machines. So every room has a lot of articles that we need to go through.”

In addition to that, the officials are now making use of specialized equipment to aid in melting the thick layer of ice that formed on top of the burned-out building since last week. The majority of the area has been covered with tarps that are pumping warm vapour beneath the plastic to help melt the ice. Steam rises from beneath the billowing white and blue tarps, and the smell of ashes is still in the air.