Thick ice hampers crews efforts after deadly fire in Quebec

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L’ISLE VERTE, QUE. (NEWS1130) – It will be a difficult day in L’Isle Verte, Quebec, where the search for the remains of up to 30 seniors in a burned out nursing home is being hampered by a layer of ice up to 30 centimetres thick.

The bitter cold and ice present a number of problems as investigators try to preserve any evidence.

“Because the building has collapsed all the water has frozen to ice.  When you want to go in and maybe retrieve the people that were there, you want to do it very delicately because breaking the ice… you don’t want to damage the scene and obviously you want to do it respectfully for the potential victims,” explains Quebec provincial police Lieutenant Guy Lapointe.

Five people are confirmed dead and that number is expected to rise in the coming days.  Up to 30 people remain unaccounted for following yesterday’s intense fire that ripped through the home.  Many of the victims were confined to wheelchairs or used walkers.

Police remain hopeful some of those missing may be with family and that has simply gone unreported.

The cause remains under investigation. Fire crews confirm only part of the building was equipped with a sprinkler system.

L’Isle Verte is a town of 1,500 people and almost everybody knew somebody who either lived in the seniors’ home or had a family member there.

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