MONTREAL -- Ambulance technicians were on standby waiting to help anyone who was trapped underneath the slabs of concrete that fell when the de la Concorde Blvd. overpass collapsed onto Highway 19 in Laval on Saturday afternoon.
At least five people were pulled from the rubble of the overpass, that collapsed onto Highway 19 at about 12:38 p.m., a police spokesperson said. And almost four hours after the collapse, at least two vehicles were still trapped underneath the rubble, said Sgt. Daniel Guerin of the Laval police.
We know there are cars underneath the debris, but we can't confirm if there are people. We presume there are (people still trapped), Guerin said.
Motorists who managed to veer away from the falling concrete said police and ambulance technicians were at the scene within minutes. But rescue teams were unable to dig under the debris until the part of the structure still standing was secured, Guerin said.
Two heavy cranes were brought in to ensure the structure was stable enough to begin removing debris. Heavy machinery was being transported into the area to remove the rubble. At least three cars and a motorcycle were visible amidst the rubble. An ambulance service spokesperson said all five who were transported to hospital were on the overpass when it collapsed onto the highway below. Three were listed in critical condition with severe head injuries, said Urgences Santé spokesperson André Champagne.
There was a large amount of concrete on the Highway below. It was the north part of the overpass that collapsed. It consists of three lanes going east bound. The overpass collapsed over both the north and south bound lanes of Highway 19. It's unclear exactly how many cars were on the overpass or under it when it collapsed, Guerin said. Both de la Concorde Blvd. and Highway 19, which connects Montreal to Laval, will be closed in both directions for many days, Guerin said.
Experts from the City of Laval were also on their way to the scene. There had been no work done on the overpass recently. The Quebec Transport Ministry sent out a message via pager about an hour before the collapse that there were pieces of concrete on the ground around the de la Concorde overpass. The message was sent just after 11:30 a.m.
If you don't have to be here, don't come, a television reporter at the scene warned.
This is the second time an overpass has collapsed in Laval. On June 18, 2000, the Souvenir Blvd. viaduct being built over Highway 15 crumbled and eight steel beams fell on a Volvo travelling underneath. Gilbert Vinson, a passenger, died instantly. The driver, Marc Vallee and another passenger, Louis Gauthier, suffered multiple injuries.
In a scathing report made public in 2003, coroner Gilles Perron blamed lack of professional rigour, questionable communications while the work was being done, and execution marked with incompetence and often improvisation for the fatal accident. Perron also said the compromised financial situation of the general contractor, Beaver Asphalt, was a factor in the tragedy. The contractor's construction license expired 120 days before the event.
A separate report by the Commission de la sante et de la securite du travail identified inadequate support braces holding eight 70-ton beams in place above the viaduct as the direct cause of the accident. When the temporary supports were removed, it didn't take much for the heavy slabs of concrete to come crashing down, the report said. The CSST blamed both the construction firm and the engineering firm for having incomplete plans and not understanding the importance of proper support for the beams. An engineer who conducted the investigation for the CSST, found the temporary supports were removed about two weeks before the entire structure collapsed, on June 18, 2000.
With the supports gone, the beams were unstable and the overpass could have come down at anytime. Beaver Asphalt, the contractor doing the work, is no longer in business.
The CSST was also unable to hand out fines because the one year it has to fine companies had elapsed by the time the board began investigating. Laval police conducted a criminal investigation into the collapse, but the crown prosecutor's office decided no charges would be laid, as criminal negligence was not a factor. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Sûreté du Québec at 514-310-4141.
