Two bodies found after children reported missing in western Quebec house fire

GATINEAU, Que. — Two bodies have been found after a fire tore through a home in western Quebec on Saturday night.

Two children had been reported missing in the blaze, but a local police spokesman said today that an autopsy will be needed to confirm the identities of the deceased. 

The fire started at about 10:40 p.m. in a residence in La Peche, Que., about 40 kilometres north of Gatineau. 

Police spokesman Martin Fournel said a man, a woman and two young girls were inside the residence at the time. 

Both adults were injured in the fire. The woman’s injuries were originally considered life-threatening but Fournel says her condition has since improved.

Fournel says the woman hurt herself while trying to go back into the home to find the children.

He says an autopsy will be carried out later this week in Montreal in order to formally identify the victims.

The fire is being investigated by the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais public security service and by provincial police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2021

The Canadian Press