Quebec seniors home fire death toll rises

Canadian authorities have updated the confirmed death toll to 24 from this month's fire at a seniors home in the small town of L'Isle-Verte, Quebec.

Eight others still remain unaccounted for, police said on Friday.

More charred remains are being analysed in hopes of identifying more victims.

Meanwhile, a mass for the victims is to be held at the local church on Saturday, attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The blaze at the 52-unit residence in the small town 450 kilometres northeast of Montreal, broke out just after midnight on January 23.

Within about an hour the wooden-framed, three-storey building was completely engulfed in flames, fanned by frigid winds of up to 70km/h.

Recovery efforts have been hampered by extreme cold, which turned water used to fight the flames into a thick blanket of ice covering the site.