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Quebec community mourns four family members killed in home construction accident.

Aug 21, 2023 | 10:52 AM

MONTREAL — A rural community in Quebec’s Bas-St-Laurent region is in mourning after four family members died in a home construction accident over the weekend.

Investigators said two men and two women were atop a scissor lift on Saturday in St-Léandre, Que., when the device toppled for an unknown reason.

Sixty-year-old Marco Roy and 53-year-old Jocelyne Bouchard were killed, as were 27-year-old Émerik Chenard and 24-year-old Kim Blouin. 

Police say the older two victims came from Rivière-du-Loup, 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, and that the younger two were from St-Léandre, a town of less than 400 people, about 400 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital.

The mayor of St-Léandre said on Facebook that the entire town is in shock and is mourning the victims of the accident.

Parti Québécois legislature member Pascal Berubé has expressed his condolences to the Maridel dairy farm, which has been owned by the Blouin family for several generations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2023.

The Canadian Press