Although there is “always a possibility”, finding more than seven victims in the rubble of the building in Old Montreal ravaged by a serious fire is “unlikely” at this stage of the investigation, to say the least, a decided Friday the police of Montreal.

“We have no information to the effect that additional victims would be in the rubble,” said Inspector David Shane, spokesman for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), in the morning. a press briefing.

The day before, Mr. Shane had insisted that investigators were not ruling out the possibility that there could be people in the building who have not yet been reported missing to the police force, such as tourists who were residing in temporary accommodation or socially isolated people. “It’s always a possibility, but at this point it seems unlikely to us,” the inspector certified on Friday.

On Wednesday, the first victim of the fire in the Place d’Youville building was identified by the authorities. This is Camille Maheux, a 76-year-old photographer who had lived in the building for 30 years. The same day, the police also confirmed in the evening that they had extricated two other bodies from the rubble of the building.

Recall that a second body had been located, then extricated from the building on Tuesday. However, his identity has not yet been confirmed. With the two bodies discovered on Wednesday evening, there would therefore still be three people missing among the rubble of the building.

The arrival of a second crane also allowed the 20 firefighters and other patrollers still present at the scene “to speed up the search work” in the last hours. “It allowed us to remove large unstable parts, including steel beams and large parts of the roof. It will allow us to explore the building in more depth, ”said Montreal Fire Department (SIM) Division Chief Martin Guilbault on Friday.

The latter maintains that the objective is now to “increase the pace” of excavations, while ensuring the safety of the workers, who systematically work “above” the risk of collapse.

“With the work we are currently doing, we think we might be able to save the facade of the building,” Mr. Guilbault also mentioned. This facade was built at the end of the 19th century.

For the rest, identification efforts for the three other victims found are continuing, but it is still “not possible to provide an estimate of the time” the process will take, according to Mr. Shane.

Three conditions must first be met, he recalled: the identification must first have been confirmed by two separate methods, at least one of which is scientific, expert opinions must have been carried out and the family must have been informed. “We are very aware that the wait is always very heavy,” conceded the inspector.

Of note: press briefings on the status of research will no longer necessarily be done on a daily basis. They will only be held “during significant developments”, Mr. Shane concluded, reiterating that “every effort” will continue to be made in the meantime, from morning till night.