2nd victim recovered at site of Old Montreal fire

Crews are resuming thesearch forvictims of a five-alarm fire in a historicbuilding in Old Montreal where two bodies have already been recovered.

On Wednesday, Montreal fire operations chief Martin Guilbault said search teams intend toremove the building's two chimneys to make the site accessible.

Montreal police inspector David Shane said police won't provide details about which sections of the building would be investigated firstto avoid speculation about which victims would beidentified.

"We are well aware that the wait is currently very hard and painful for the families, especially each timewe announce thediscovery of a new victim in the rubble," Shane said.

A second body wasrecovered at about 5:45 p.m. at the site of the fire in Old Montreal Tuesday evening, according to the Service de Police de la Ville de Montral (SPVM), who saidthe remains werebeing transferred to a laboratory for identification.

Last week, a fire tore through the three-storey, 15-unit building at the intersection of Place d'Youville and Saint-Nicolas Street.

WATCH|Aerial video showing scene of deadly fire:

Aerial video shows aftermath of deadly fire in Old Montreal

1 year ago

Duration 0:47

Drone footage shows an aerial view of the fire that ravaged a historic building in Old Montreal.

The body of the first victim an unidentified woman was recovered Sunday from the rubble.

Five others are still missing.

Nine people, three of whom had serious injuries, were transported to the hospital.

Guilbaultsaid at a news conference Tuesday morning that crews wereunable to enter the building due to the risk of collapse. He said teams werecontinuing toscan the site from a safe distance.

Shanesaid identifying the bodies will be a "long process," in part because victims need to be identified through at least one scientific method, such as dental records or DNA.

"We will not be able to give names very fast, but we cannot make a mistake," said Shane, who recognized the wait could feel "unbearable" for family members.