The floor of a building collapsed Saturday afternoon in Montreal North at the intersection of Rolland Boulevard and Pascal Street.
The Montreal Fire Department’s (SIM) technical rescue team was dispatched to the scene to try to rescue two people trapped under the rubble.
The SIM card is in communication with one of these two people and is still trying to contact the other, TVA Nouvelles learned. The victim, with whom the emergency services had verbal contact, suffered injuries.
Another person managed to escape from the rubble.
The Montreal Police Service (SPVM) was also deployed to support the SIM’s work.
The event will take place in a three-story building with commercial space on the ground floor and 10 residential units above. Fortunately, all units were unoccupied when the second floor collapsed onto the ground floor.
Due to a fire, renovation work was carried out on the building for several months.
“There was a fire about two years ago, so the building was boarded up for a while. We are really surprised and shocked when we see what is happening today. Nobody expected this,” said Montreal North Mayor Christine Black.
Boulevard Rolland was closed to traffic between Rue Pascal and Rue Maurice-Duplessis to allow emergency services to work.
The perimeter could be increased if necessary, SPVM spokeswoman Jeanne Drouin confirmed to TVA Nouvelles.