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Quebec police say six people perished in house fire north of Montreal

SAINTE-JULIENNE, Que. — Quebec provincial police say they have found two additional bodies inside a home that burned Thursday morning north of Montreal, bringing the death toll to six.
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An emergency worker is shown at the scene of a fatal fire at a home in Ste-Julienne, Que., Thursday, February 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

SAINTE-JULIENNE, Que. — Quebec provincial police say they have found two additional bodies inside a home that burned Thursday morning north of Montreal, bringing the death toll to six.

Police say four children aged under eight years and two adults died when the house in Ste-Julienne, in Quebec's Lanaudière region, caught fire at around 1 a.m.

Sgt. Éloïse Cossette had said earlier that when the blaze was brought under control, firefighters found four victims inside, but late Thursday she confirmed the discovery of two more bodies.

She says the house was destroyed by the fire, and it was impossible to immediately identify the dead.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Cossette says the investigation is being led by the police force's major crimes unit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2023.

The Canadian Press