Family Killed As Sinkhole Swallows Home

A Quebec family of four was killed yesterday when a gigantic sinkhole triggered by a landslide swallowed their home as they watched TV. Rescuers in their small village east of Montreal spent 24 hours digging frantically before finding the bodies of Richard Préfontaines, his wife, and their two daughters, aged 9 and 11. The family appears to have been caught completely off guard when the earth gave way, officials tell the Montreal Gazette.

Rescuers' hopes had been raised yesterday when the family's dog was found tied to a tree in the mud, weak but alive. The sinkhole, which also swallowed two cars and a section of road, is "a pretty gigantic crater,” a fire department spokesman said. “It’s hard imagining something like this. It’s pretty impressive." The local mayor says the community is in shock, especially because the area hadn't been believed to be at risk.
(More sinkhole stories.)