4 dead after scissor lift falls at house construction site in Quebec

Four family members are dead after a construction project turned tragic over the weekend in Quebec’s Bas-St-Laurent region, provincial police say.

Investigators said two men and two women were working on a new house atop a scissor lift on Saturday in St-Léandre, a rural municipality of fewer than 400 people, when the device toppled for an unknown reason.

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“The occupants fell several meters. On the spot, we found the death of one of them,” said provincial police spokesman Stéphane Tremblay, referring to a 27-year-old man.

He said three others were badly injured and were taken to hospital but died during the night.

Tremblay confirmed Sunday that the four people were part of the same family.

The victims include a 27-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman from St-Léandre and a 53-year-old woman and 60-year-old man from Rivière-du-Loup.

Officials said a coroner’s inquest is underway, while an investigation by Quebec’s workplace health and safety board aims to determine whether an equipment breakdown occurred.