Montreal

Quebec teen dies after falling at closed factory in Shawinigan

Provincial police says two youths had gone for a walk at the former Belgo factory and climbed to the top of a silo when the girl fell inside the concrete and metal structure and got trapped inside.

15-year-old girl climbed up silo and fell down, says provincial police

Abandoned paper mill. There's some snow on the ground.
The Belgo factory, pictured here in February 2024, has been closed since 2008. (Olivier Croteau/Radio-Canada)

Quebec provincial police say a 15-year-old girl has died after a fall at the site of a shuttered factory in Shawinigan, northeast of Montreal.

One of the girl's relatives alerted emergency services around 8:30 p.m. on Friday after the victim fell into a silo at the former Belgo factory, a paper mill that has been closed since 2008.

Sgt. Frédéric Deshaies says two youths had gone for a walk on the factory site and climbed to the top of a silo when the girl fell inside the concrete and metal structure and got trapped inside.

Local firefighters in Shawinigan, about 165 kilometres from Montreal, called their counterparts in nearby Trois-Rivières for a confined space rescue operation.

The young victim was located and freed at around 4:40 a.m. Saturday and taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A coroner will investigate her death. The teenager accompanying her was not injured. 

With files from Radio-Canada