At least 2 dead as fire burns down hostel in Canada’s Montreal

OTTAWA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) — A major fire broke out in a hostel building in Old Montreal of Canada early Friday morning, killing at least two people, local media reported.
Montreal police said the fire, which started around 2 a.m. in the building at the corner of Notre-Dame and Bonsecours streets, is suspicious in nature, and the cause remains unknown.
The fire completely destroyed the three-storey, 100-year-old building which housed the hostel called Le 402 on the second and third floors and a restaurant on the main floor, the reports said.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, police said they could not confirm the number of deaths as investigators didn’t yet have access to the scene.
According to CBC News, municipal tax records show the owner of the building is Émile-Haim Benamor, who in 2021 requested a permit to build a “20-room hotel” there. The same person also owned the building on Place D’Youville in Old Montreal where seven people died in a fire in March 2023. ■