Recovery of human remains underway at Eastway Tank
Identification process could take weeks, police say
Authorities have begun to recover human remains found at the Eastway Tank plant on Merivale Road, the site of last week's fatal explosion.
Retrieval efforts were hampered in recent days by difficult working conditions at the explosion site, investigators previously said.
As of Monday, five sets of human remains were found, but the site's hazardous conditions made it too treacherous to retrieve them.
The Coroner's Office, the office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and Ottawa police are working jointly on the operation, police said.
An update is provided below for the Multiple investigations underway at scene of explosion and fire on Merivale Road.<br>Background at: <a href="https://t.co/uqg8xvySQr">https://t.co/uqg8xvySQr</a> <a href="https://t.co/E3ZFtAqp4t">pic.twitter.com/E3ZFtAqp4t</a>
—@OttawaPoliceOn Monday, Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion, the coroner overseeing the Ottawa and eastern Ontario regions, said the next step is to identify the remains as quickly as possible.
Police said the forensic identification process may take days, if not weeks.
CBC News has independently verified the identities of those missing and presumed dead: Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson and Russell McLellan.
Three people were also taken to hospital, including one man, Matt Kearney, who later succumbed to his injuries.
