OTTAWA – A major fire broke out in a hostel building in Old Montreal of Canada on Friday morning, killing at least two people, local media reported.

Montreal police said the fire, which started around 2 am in the building at the corner of Notre-Dame and Bonsecours streets, is suspicious in nature, and the cause remains unknown.

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The fire completely destroyed the three-storey, 100-year-old building which housed the hostel called Le 402 on the second and third floors and a restaurant on the main floor, the reports said.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, police said they could not confirm the number of deaths as investigators didn't yet have access to the scene.

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According to CBC News, municipal tax records show the owner of the building is Émile-Haim Benamor, who in 2021 requested a permit to build a "20-room hotel" there.

The same person also owned the building on Place D'Youville in Old Montreal where seven people died in a fire in March 2023.