The snow has now fallen, and tents have been set up since Saturday in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan to search for possible victims, two days after explosions ripped through LaFortune buildings on fire and propane. In the municipality, the public still did not realize what had happened.
“A part of my youth has just left. I will never watch it again. But it will remain in my memories, that’s for sure,” says Sylvain Touranjo. When the man was 15 years old, he worked for three summers in a dilapidated factory. At the time, “the company that owned it was called Transportes Belanger et Freres, and they were nice people,” says the man, who now lives in Ottawa.
Photo by Josie Desmarais, The Press
Sylvain Durango
Arriving in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan for personal reasons, the local man says he is devastated by the tragedy, while three others, including two Propane LaFortune employees and a subcontractor, are still missing from the call. A loud explosion was first heard — and felt — for miles around 11 a.m. Thursday. A fire broke out in a propane warehouse owned by the company and caused an explosion. The building was completely damaged.
According to our information, the first two victims were Céline Pilon and France Desrosiers, both of whom worked as secretaries. The third victim was an employee of the company. Officially, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) has yet to confirm anything about the identity of the victims. No press conference is scheduled for Saturday, and preliminary work is still underway for the start of the research.
On Facebook, Celine Pylon’s cousin Lyn Pylon paid tribute to her. “I grew up with my cousins and my cousin who lived next door. We played in the same yard and my memories of Celine are her beautiful long hair, her slim waist and that smile. She was so beautiful. I know everyone who was lucky enough to know her regrets it today,” He wrote.
The city of Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan announced on Saturday that a commemoration of communion would be held at the church on Sunday “for all the people affected directly or indirectly by the tragedy that occurred on Thursday”.
“It shouldn’t happen”
For Mr Turanjo, the most important thing is to send courage to the relatives of the victims. “I’m very sorry for the community. It’s a real tragedy for them, for the families. It touches me especially for those who were directly affected. I, personally, saw the garage being built. It’s very emotional to be here this morning,” continues Mr. Turankaev, while police escort him. Behind is busy guarding the scene, preventing anyone from entering the site as a security measure.
Not far away, Réal Lamarche, who lives about a kilometer from the scene, was on his daily walk. Pres meeting “The morning it happened, I came here like I do every day, a quarter of an hour before the explosion,” he explains.
Photo by Josie Desmarais, The Press
The real Lamarche
When I got home, my daughter explained everything to me. It is sad and devastating. This is very unfortunate. It’s a small municipality, it shouldn’t happen, these things. But we are not always safe from it.
Réal Lamarche is a resident of Saint-Roch-sur-l’Achigan
He confirms that “waiting” for news and more information is the hardest part, especially since there are many safeguards that need to be done before research can begin, especially to ensure that propane products are available. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re learning that it’s going to be a long time because it’s complicated and the context. It’s really tricky. The families that are waiting for it… I wish with all my heart that they can recover from it, but I don’t know that it will,” he said. He slips away.
Public Security Minister François Bonnardel visited the scene on Friday and said he was shocked by the “immeasurable tragedy”. “It’s a very difficult sight to see, it shows that it’s a full eruption,” he explained at a press conference.
At her side, Isabelle Lafortune, co-owner of Propane Lafortune, consoled the victims’ families, tears in her voice. He pointed out that psychological help is available to company employees. Support is also being given to the families of the victims, who have met all of them.
With Isabelle Dugas, Pres
