The small Quebec town of Les Coteaux is in mourning today after a fire ripped through an apartment early Tuesday morning, taking the lives of a couple and two of their three children.
Christmas lights still hung around the patio door of the gutted flat. No evidence of a smoke detector has been found.
Authorities identified the victims as Patrick Gagnon, 37, and Karine Desrochers-Gauthier, 32, and their four-year-old daughter.
A two-year-old boy died later in hospital, while an eight-year-old boy remains in critical condition.
All five of the victims people were unconscious when they were evacuated from the site.
None of the other apartments in the complex was touched by the fire.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined. The investigation continues.
Les Coteaux has a population of about 4,500 people. It is located southwest of Montreal, near the city of Valleyfield.
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