Woodstock: Seven people remain unaccounted for on Sunday after a fiery explosion reduced a Canadian apartment building to crushed bricks and charred wood.
With a large part of the three-storey building now turned to a pile of smouldering rubble, police said the outlook for those missing was grim.
"If we don`t have any fatalities, I`ll be very surprised," Woodstock police Sgt Marvin Massecar said late Sunday. Woodstock is about 135 miles (217 kilometres) northeast of Windsor, and the US city of Detroit.
Raging flames tore through the building after nearby residents reported hearing a thunderous explosion and feeling the ground shudder early Sunday morning. Plumes of black smoke could be seen from the distance as fire crews worked to douse the blaze.
Seven people, including a firefighter, were injured in the blaze, police said. Six of those hurt were treated at Woodstock General Hospital and released. One person remained in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
Bureau Report
