After a fire broke out in a building in Old Montreal last Thursday, rescuers are still attempting to recover bodies after six people were reported missing.
Rescuers extracted a body on Sunday, though they can only confirm it was a woman’s. They have yet to identify the woman.
Montreal’s police inspector David Shane explained to the media that the building is not yet safe for rescuers to enter on foot. Montreal fire chief Martin Guillbault corroborated this report.
“Due to the risk of collapse of the structure, firefighters were unable to physically enter the site because of safety reasons,” Guilbault said.
Shane added that they have identified certain parts of the building where victims could potentially be found.
“These areas have been targeted as a result of reconstruction work and the probable positioning of the victims in the building at the time of the fire,” Shane said. “We want to find every missing person and find the cause and circumstances of this fire.”
Police added that the missing people are from Quebec, Ontario, and the United States.
The building in question was being illegally used as rental units for Airbnb. The building’s owner, Emile-Haim Benamor, pleaded guilty to tax evasion two years ago and currently practices the law with limitations as is stated on the bar’s website.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is calling for a crackdown on illegal Airbnb units, like the one that went up in flames, which are still available to rent on its platform. The area of Old Montreal where the building was located prohibited Airbnb rentals.
Plante explained that Airbnb should have demanded that the owners provide a permit number from the Quebec government.
“What happened here is a complete tragedy,” Plante said. “Clearly, we would not be in this position if we had been dealing with a company that took its responsibilities seriously and said to these owners ‘You don’t have a certificate, you cannot rent your unit.’” And that would force people who want to act illegally and don’t pay taxes to not escape their responsibilities.”