(Quebec) A hunter in his 40s has died and two others are suffering from hypothermia after the boat they were on capsized on the St. Lawrence River near Sainte-Croix, in Chaudière-Appalaches.
The emergency services were called to help them on Sunday around 7 a.m.
“They left the north bank of the river in a boat to cross the river which is very narrow here to come duck hunting in the area and, for a reason that remains to be determined, the water would have risen in the boat. bringing the fall of men to the water, ”told the scene Louis-Philippe Bibeau, a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
Two of them were able to swim back to shore, a man in his twenties and another in his forties. They are “safe and sound”, but were transported to a hospital to treat “slight hypothermia,” said Sergeant Bibeau.
The third hunter has drifted away. He was wearing a life jacket.
Significant research has been undertaken by the Coast Guard, the Sûreté du Québec and the fire departments of municipalities on the north and south banks of the river. An Armed Forces Hercules aircraft and a helicopter also flew over the area.
The body of an “inanimate” man was located and was recovered from the waters of the river, around 11:30 am, near Sainte-Croix. The searches were then terminated.
The boat was still floating in the water at the start of the afternoon as authorities were trying to determine how they will remove it given that the river is very narrow and shallow where it is located.
An investigation was launched to clarify the causes and circumstances of the fatal sinking.