Sept-les hostage threatened with homemade ice pick, says union

The female correctional officer who was held hostage for more than three hours on Wednesday afternoon was being threatened with a homemade ice pick, according to the spokesman fortheunion that represents provincial jail guards.

• Hostage situation over at jail inSept-les

The victim is physically finebut was treated for shock after being freed around 6:30 p.m. ET.

"She was very shaken. She underwent a very stressful situation," said Mathieu Lavoie, spokesman for the Syndicat des agents de la paix en services correctionnels du Qubec (SAPSCQ).

Inmates facing charges

Two inmates at the Sept-les, Que., jail,Dany Bernatchez and Steven Charlish-Godin, have been formally charged in connection with the hostage-taking that occurred at the detention centre.

Police say they're still working to determine a motive for the alleged hostage-taking.

"Investigators are still working on this file," saidSretdu QubecSgt. Mlanie Dumaresq.

• Video of helicopter escape fromSt-Jrmejail made public

Quebecprovincial police say the suspects peacefully surrendered three and a half hoursafter being called to the scene around 3 p.m. ET.

The facility, which houses the courthouse on the main level and the jail in the basement, was evacuated for most of Wednesday afternoon.

On Thursday, three extra police officers were assigned to the jail following the hostage-taking.

Prison working conditions unsafe, union says

SAPSCQ is currently in negotiations with the province for a new collective agreement.

Before the incident in Sept-les, union members were touringthe provinceto bring attention to what they say are their unsafe working conditions.

Lavoie saidit's been impossible to hire new correctional officers inQuebec jails for the last year, as hiring has been frozen during negotiations.

But when asked Thursday, Lavoie said he doesn't want to politicize what happened to the correctional officer.

He said the situation must be carefully examined so it doesn't happen again. He saidhis thoughts are with the officer, her co-workers and all the correctional workers in Quebec.

"It was a shock. It's a shock to most of the province when something like that happens," he said.