Quebec gravel quarry search halted due to high winds
2 workers L'Epiphanie facility believed to be buried
CBC News
Posted: Jan 31, 2013 12:26 PM ET
Last Updated: Jan 31, 2013 3:40 PM ET
Strong winds have forced crews to suspend their search at a quarry in L'Épiphanie, Que., where two people are believed to have been buried underneath rubble for more than 48 hours.
On Tuesday, three workers fell into the large gravel quarry 50 kilometres north of Montreal after a landslide hit two trucks and a loader and buried them at the bottom of the pit. One man who only suffered minor injuries was rescued by helicopter.
Strong gusts of wind have made it too dangerous to operate the rescue helicopter and crane that crews have been using to search for a man and a woman who are still missing.
Overnight, teams installed a platform for a large crane that is twice as powerful as one used on Wednesday.
The crane will be used to lower equipment into the pit to help firefighters at the bottom dig through the rubble.
Repentigny police Sgt. Bruno Marier said emergency workers are anxious to return to the search.
"Everyone wants to go down and start digging …but we don't want to jeapordize anyone else's lives," Marier said.
He said experts are monitoring the wind conditions and the search-and-rescue crews will resume their work as soon as the winds calm down.
Share Tools
Latest Montreal News Headlines
- Crucifix to stay in National Assembly: Drainville
- PQ minister Bernard Drainville says the crucifix will remain behind the speaker's throne in the National Assembly. more »
- Quebec director Chloé Robichaud gets Cannes ovation
- Montreal filmmaker Chloé Robichaud's debut feature Sarah Prefers to Run (Sarah préfère la course) had a warm welcome Tuesday following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. more »
- 'Lightly felt' earthquake west of Montreal
- Natural Resources Canada is reporting a minor earthquake near Rigaud, Quebec. more »
- Service restored on Montreal metro lines
- Montreal's STM is reporting service is back on all four of its metro lines. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Senate debates expense audits amid greater scrutiny
- The expenses scandal is dominating the first Senate session since the audits on senators Mike Duffy, Mac Harb and Patrick Brazeau were released and it was revealed Duffy's questionable expenses were repaid by a personal cheque from the prime minister's chief of staff. Follow our live blog. more »
- Search for deadly Oklahoma tornado survivors nears end
- The search for survivors and bodies following the most powerful type of tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb that levelled a school and killed at least nine children on Monday is almost over. more »
- Deadly Oklahoma tornado confirmed as most powerful type

- Emergency workers neared the end of their search Tuesday afternoon for survivors in Moore, Okla., following a deadly tornado that weather officials said was now classified among the most powerful type of twister. more »
- Only 1 set of human remains found at Millard farm, police say
- Hamilton police have confirmed that they are dealing with only a single set of human remains at the Waterloo region farm of Dellen Millard. more »
- Rob Ford faces more calls to address crack allegations
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford went back to work after a holiday weekend, but he kept his mouth shut about an alleged video that two published reports say shows him smoking what appears to be a crack pipe. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- Gary Carter honoured with Montreal street name
- Thousands push for rejection of Bill 14
- Complete service outage on Montreal metro
- 4-year-old girl attacked by dog in l'Assomption
- Quebecer dead in Mexico after scuba diving incident
- Deadly Oklahoma tornado confirmed as most powerful type
- Daniel Ratthé asked to resign from CAQ
- Man in his 50s hit by truck in Laval
- Elijah Harper's daughter overwhelmed by condolences

