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Coroner identifies second victim in Quebec's Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean landslide

MONTREAL — The Quebec coroner's office is confirming the identity of the woman killed in a landslide in the province's Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region last weekend.
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Crews begin repairs to a washed-out section of Highway 170 in Rivière-Éternité, Que., on Sunday, July 2, 2023. A major landslide caused by heavy rain cut Highway 170 between Saguenay, Que., and St-Siméon. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

MONTREAL — The Quebec coroner's office is confirming the identity of the woman killed in a landslide in the province's Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region last weekend.

Pascale Racine, 44, was one of two people who died last Saturday in Rivière-Éternité, Que., about 260 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

Earlier in the week, authorities identified the other victim killed after heavy rains triggered landslides and flooding as 48-year-old Pascal Héon.

Police divers found the two bodies on Tuesday evening.

A provincial engineer told a briefing the victims were trying to clear debris from a small landslide off a road when a larger landslide hit. A man who was with them managed to cling to a tree and was rescued.

More than 50 residents of the town were forced to leave their homes after the storm dumped 130 millimetres of rain in the space of two hours.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.

The Canadian Press