A public inquiry will try to clarify the circumstances of the death of two volunteer firefighters who went to the rescue of citizens when the Gouffre River overflowed in Saint-Urbain on 1er last May, in the Charlevoix region.
The Chief Coroner of Quebec, Ms.e Pascale Descary, announced Wednesday the holding of this investigation into the deaths of Christopher Lavoie and Régis Lavoie.
“More specifically, the hearings will allow any person of interest to express themselves concerning the circumstances of this death in order to analyze all the contributing factors, and this, with a view to proposing possible solutions for better protection of the human life “, we explain, by way of press release.
Coroner Andrée Kronström will preside over the hearings during which he will be assisted by a prosecutor who will be appointed shortly. Under no circumstances can a coroner-investigator rule on the civil or criminal liability of a person.
The place and date of this investigation will also be known later.
1er last May, around 2 p.m., Christopher Lavoie, 24, and his colleague Régis Lavoie, 55, were swept away while trying to help residents struggling with flooding in Saint-Urbain, a small locality located half an hour north of Baie-Saint-Paul.
Christopher Lavoie’s father, Davy Lavoie, later denounced the fact that his son was sent on such an assignment when he could not swim.
The bodies of the two missing firefighters were found two days later upstream, in the Gouffre River, not far from Baie-Saint-Paul.