Quebec Family Missing After Sinkhole Swallows House

(May 11) -- A Canadian couple and their two children are missing in a rural town north of Montreal after a giant sinkhole swallowed their house and much of the surrounding area Monday night. No sign has been found of the couple, an electrician and a daycare worker, or their daughters, ages 9 and 11.

Rescuers have made at least two attempts to get into the house to look for the Prefontaine family, but both times had to evacuate when the conditions became dangerous. Authorities say the foundation of the white clapboard farmhouse was destroyed when it fell 30 feet down, but the building is still upright.

Relatives of missing Quebec family whose house was swept away in a landslide take care of Foxy, the family dog that was recovered.

Ryan Remiorz, The Canadian Press/AP

Relatives of a family of four who are missing after their house was swallowed by a sinkhole take care of Foxy, the family dog that was recovered by rescuers on Tuesday in St. Jude, Quebec, Canada.

Authorities believe the family was at home at 9 p.m. local time when the sinkhole occurred because their cars were parked in front of the house, CBC News reports.

At the time, many families in the Montreal area were watching a Stanley Cup playoff game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Canada's CTV News reports. A family member told CBC the Prefontaines were big Canadiens fans, leading authorities to worry that the family was in the basement watching the game.

Rescuers have called Richard Prefontaine, the father, on his cell phone in an attempt to locate the family and have heard it ringing, but cannot get to the area. Prefontaine reportedly wears his cell phone on his belt at all times, even when he is in his house, CTV reported.

The only bright spot of news has been that one of the family's two dogs was found alive, covered in mud but seemingly well.

Sinkholes are common in the area approximately 50 miles northeast of Montreal because of the soft blue clay that lines the nearby Yamaska River.

A neighbor, Herman Gagnon, told the Montreal Gazette that he heard a noise Monday night coming from his basement. When another neighbor reported the same thing, Gagnon got in his car and headed into the town of St. Jude. But between his house and the Prefontaines' he was stopped by the massive crater, which is approximately 540 yards long and 110 yards wide.