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Sinkhole Tragedy in Saint-Jude Quebec: Family of 4 Found Dead
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by Amy Judd | May 12, 2010 at 08:57 am
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The Family of Four Whose House Was Swallowed by a Sinkhole in Saint-Jude Quebec Has Been Found Dead
The community of Saint-Jude are in mourning after the family of four was found in the basement of their Saint-Jude home after their house was swallowed in to the ground.
The family consisted of dad Richard Prefontaine, mom Lyne Charbonneau and daughters Amelie, 12 and Anais, 9. The house had moved about 30 metres from where it was originally located according to CBC and even though the family dog escaped, the family sadly did not.
They were found very close to one another, some of them lying on the couch in the family room in the basement, where we were told that they'd be," said Michel C. Doré, Quebec's associate deputy public security minister, who was on the scene
The house sunk in to the ground on Monday night, but rescue officials took about 12 hours to reach the home due to its remote location. They thought the family was home when it happened because their vehicles were parked outside and believed that they were in the basement watching the Canadiens versus Penguins hockey game when the catastrophe occurred.
The incident was only discovered because a driver was passing through the area and his truck fell in to the hole. The authorities first tried to reach the house but the ground was too unstable and they could not do it safely. They tried to call the family but there was no answer.
Saint-Jude in Shock and Mourning
Saint-Jude is a small town of only about 1,000 people so it is a close community and residents cannot believe what has happened.
Saint-Jude Mayor Yves de Bellefeuille could find few words to express the community’s sadness after the discovery of the bodies.
"It was a difficult day," he said.
What Caused the Landslide?
At this point experts are not sure why this happened, but this is an area prone to landslides and there was another small one in the area. Five nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution until the cause can be determined.
A sinkhole can occur suddenly and without warning; experts say in this instance the family would not have had time to react.
The community is planning a vigil for the family, but no funeral arrangements have been made at this time.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 09:54 on May 12th, 2010
there has to be a big gap under the ground for something like this to happen. what?
at 15:43 on June 24th, 2010
There seem to be many sinkholes lately. I remember that there was a massive one (can't remember where) and one in China. It is nothing to do with men drilling or something? Why they only now suddenly appearing in the media. Just what is going on.