A large-scale evacuation was launched in the Saguenay borough of Chicoutimi on Friday afternoon after a suspicious package was discovered on Racine Street, near the building housing Ubisoft offices.
Saguenay police say a resident noticed the package and called police at 12:50 p.m.
“We’re taking the matter very seriously,” police spokesperson Luc Tardis said.
Officers dispatched to the scene located the package and quickly erected a safety perimetre encompassing a large section of Racine Street.
Tardis said several buildings, including residential and commercial buildings, were evacuated.
The number of evacuees is estimated to be around 500. City buses were on site so people could seek shelter and stay warm during the police intervention.
There were no injuries, according to Tardis.
Other first responders, including firefighters and paramedics, were on hand to help police.
Tardis said the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) was called in as the local police force does not have the resources to inspect the package and handle its contents.
Technical specialists were sent in from Montreal, over 400 km away, and only arrived in Saguenay at 7:30 p.m,, according to Tardis.
As of 8:30 p.m., the intervention was still ongoing.
The incident comes just three weeks after a hoax forced the evacuation of the building housing Ubisoft offices in Montreal.
Tardis, however, confirmed Friday evening that the two events were not linked and that the suspicious package was not connected to the video game developer.
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