On March 16, a fire broke out in a building located in Old Montreal, resulting in the deaths of seven individuals from Ontario, Quebec, and the United States, according to Montreal police. The victims have been identified or reported missing, and after the discovery of the last two bodies, authorities do not expect to find any other victims in the debris.
The following is a list of the identified victims:
An Wu, 31, was a neuroscientist on a post-doctoral program at the University of California San Diego who decided to extend her trip to Montreal for a conference. She was an admirer of late Montrealer Leonard Cohen and was described by a colleague as “creative, fearless, and forward-thinking with a constant desire to learn.”
Dania Zafar, 31, of Toronto, and Saniya Khan, 31, of Detroit, were Pakistani childhood friends visiting Montreal for a one-day holiday. Zafar was a self-employed publisher who was in the process of attaining Canadian citizenship, while Khan was a Master’s student in public health at Wayne State University who volunteered her time at youth centers and served as a suicide hotline operator.
Camille Maheux, 76, had lived in the building for over 30 years and was a renowned photographer. Maheux’s sister-in-law described her as intelligent, curious, and an avid reader, stating that her passing by fire was devastating.
Nathan Sears, 35, was a political scientist from Toronto who participated in the International Studies Association conference held in Montreal the same week as the incident. His family had circulated a missing person poster online.
Charlie Lacroix, 18, is one of two individuals whose bodies have not been officially identified. She and a friend, whose identity has not been made public, rented a unit on Airbnb and were trapped in the fire, according to her father, Louis-Philippe Lacroix, who described her as having a bright future ahead of her.