Family Still Missing After Sinkhole Swallows Home!

A Canadian couple and two young children are missing after their home collapsed into a massive sinkhole near Montreal.

VIDEO SOURCE:  CNN 

A family dog has been found alive at a rural property in Saint-Jude, Que., where the land gave way Monday night and swept away a house and several cars.

Police say a family of four has not been heard from since the geological incident caused part of the house to sink near the Yamaska River.

It created a large crevice, damaged a two-lane road and prompted the evacuation of five other houses in the town located about 50 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

"It's a pretty gigantic crater," said Francois Gregoire, a spokesperson for the fire department.

The incident, which happened during the time that the Montreal-Pittsburgh playoff game was being broadcast on TV, remains under investigation by officials.

Still missing are a couple -- an electrician and a daycare worker -- and two young girls who live inside the house.

CTV's Genevieve Beauchemin said police have tried to call the man's cellphone, but have only heard it ringing inside the house.

"He apparently carries his cellphone all the time with him. He has it on his belt, even when he is within the house," Beauchemin told CTV's Canada AM from Saint-Jude on Tuesday morning.

"So, what they tried to do overnight is to call that cellphone to try to see whether he would answer that and they could hear the cellphone ring at times, but there was no one who picked up. No signs of life."

CTV Montreal's Cindy Sherwin said the man had lived in the area for much of his life. 

He has grown up here and been in this area for generations," Sherwin reported Tuesday from Saint-Jude. "His father lived on a plot of land just nearby."

Sherwin said police have not revealed where they found the family's dog on Tuesday morning.

Rescuers have made several attempts to make their way inside the house, having to call off two overnight attempts because of safety concerns.

On Tuesday morning, a third attempt was set to go forward.

Family members have gathered near the house as they wait to find out the fate of their loved ones.

"They said that they will stay here all day until there is news -- either way," Beauchemin said.

At the Aux Quatre-Vents elementary school in Saint-Jude, students heard what had happened at the house where one of their fellow students lived.

Principal Chantal Gagnon said the school had never been so quiet.

"We told them that since there is no official word we can still cross our fingers," she said.

"We told them that in times like these we have to take care of each other."

Mayor Yves Bellefeuille said residents are in shock after seeing what happened to the house in Saint-Jude.

He said counselors will be made available to people who need help.

Click here to watch News Story of Missing Family & Family Dog Found

SOURCE: CTV News

With files from The Canadian Press

Relatives of a family of four who are missing after their house was swept away in a landslide take care of Foxy, the family dog that was recovered by rescuers, Tuesday, May 11, 2010 in St. Jude, Que. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

A Quebec family of four was missing Tuesday after a massive sinkhole swallowed their home, according to reports from CNN affiliates. Authorities said the home fell 30 feet into the hole when it opened around 9:30 p.m. Monday. A couple in their 40s and two children, ages 9 and 11, were believed to be inside, according to a report by CNN affiliate CBC news. 

The couple’s vehicles were seen outside the house and efforts to reach them by cell phone were unsuccessful, authorities told the CBC.

"We tried to reach them by phone, because the father always wears his cell phone on him," Quebec Provincial Police Sgt. Ronald McKinnis told CBC. "The firefighters heard the cell phone, but they weren't able to [locate] it."

The hole was about 500 yards long and forced the evacuation of five other homes in the town of Saint-Jude, in a rural area near the Yamaska River about 40 miles northeast of Montreal, CNN affiliate CTV reported.

McKinnis told the CBC that the hole was first reported by a truck driver whose rig fell into it Monday night. He suffered only minor injuries, McKinnis said.

Search-and-rescue dogs were being called in to help the search, according to a report in the Montreal Gazette, and a helicopter was circling the area looking for signs of movement.

SOURCE:  CNN