A few hours after the explosion that destroyed a flammable products distribution store in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan on Thursday, people in the community are still shaking.
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“I pray to little Jesus that there are living people, but we don’t know. It seems people inside were screaming before it exploded,” said a resident of the area, Sylvie Cusson, in an emotional voice.
Several citizens who were nearby compared the blast to a massive earthquake.
“I thought it was an earthquake (…) It really hurts me because I grew up with the Lafortunes. For the families and even for me, it hurts me a lot and it makes me cry because it’s a small community. With everyone we know, it’s very touching,” she said.
“It was touching! We were wondering what it was because it was making a lot of noise and we knew it was an explosion,” said area resident Chantal Cusson.