Six people, including two children, were saved following an explosion and fire that levelled a motel just outside Trois-Rivières, Que.

Motel le Havre, formerly known as Motel-Bar Turco, in Ste-Marthe-du-Cap burned to the ground.

The motel was targeted by police from the Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec regions last March for possible drug involvement.

Bricks and other debris littered the street outside the two-storey motel at 21 Courteau St., which also housed a bar.

A man working at a garage across the street described the sound of the explosion as "phenomenal."

The six victims were treated on site by paramedics.