Two workers killed in scaffold collapse at Quebec paper mill identified

WINDSOR, Que. — The two workers who died after a multi-storey scaffold collapsed this week at a Domtar paper mill in Quebec have been identified.

In a Twitter post Wednesday night, Domtar extended its sympathies to the family and colleagues of 39-year-old Yan Baillargeon, whose body was recovered under the debris.

The body of the second victim, 22-year-old Hugo Paré of Ste-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier in the Quebec City region, was discovered overnight and his death was declared on site today.

Domtar said it is co-operating with the ongoing investigations by Quebec provincial police and the province’s workers’ health and safety board to determine the cause of the accident.

The Confederation of National Trade Unions confirmed the two deaths in a statement, extending sympathies to the families and relatives of the victims.

On Wednesday, Sherbrooke fire Chief Stéphane Simoneau told reporters that the workers had been trapped in a silo about 60 metres high when scaffolding installed inside the silo collapsed early Tuesday.

The workers were employed by a contracting firm that was doing major work at the Windsor mill.

The town of 5,300 people in Quebec’s Eastern Townships issued a statement expressing its condolences to the victims and those who were injured.

“The Domtar factory has been a part of who we are for a long time, and the people who work there, whether employees or contractors who visit periodically, are important to all of us,” Mayor Sylvie Bureau wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
 

The Canadian Press