Hundreds of thousands of people were still without power on Friday in eastern Canada after two days earlier a storm left parts of the provinces of Quebec y Ontario covered with ice, which caused some tree branches to break and fall on top of power lines.
The vast majority of the still unresolved blackouts were reported in Quebec. Authorities also reported a third death related to Wednesday’s storm.
In Saint-Joseph-Du-Lac, Quebec, Police Inspector Jean Philippe Labbé said a woman found her husband unconscious in the garage where he was running a generator. Labbé indicated that the 75-year-old man died after being taken to the hospital. He said firefighters determined that carbon monoxide levels in the garage were 20 times above the norm.
The health authority of Montreal reported that dozens of people suffered carbon monoxide poisoning during the blackout after using equipment designed for outdoor use indoors.
Officials said they received more than 60 reports of CO poisoning over several hours Friday, and emergency rooms were operating at 200% capacity.
In Les Coteaux, Quebec, a man died Thursday while trying to cut tree limbs on his property. The provincial police indicated that the individual was hit by a branch and died at the scene.
Ontario Provincial Police said another man died Wednesday after he was struck by a tree branch at his home in South Stormont, Ontario.
