SAINT-URBAIN – The bodies of the two firefighters who disappeared in Saint-Urbain earlier this week were recovered from the Gouffre River on Tuesday after a long search.
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Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) helicopter located a second body in the Gouffre River around 1:30 p.m. The body was about 500 meters from the body found this morning.
A first missing person had been located near Saint-Laurent Road around 10 a.m. His body was stuck in the branches in the middle of the river, still wearing his distinctive firefighter’s suit.
According to our information, it would be Régis Lavoie, 55, one of the two firefighters who disappeared during the flooding earlier this week. The SQ stresses, however, that the coroner must still formally identify it.
Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
The body was discovered just over a kilometer south of the Route 138 bridge in Saint-Urbain, where the two volunteer firefighters were last seen after trying to save two citizens.
Photo provided by Marylou Lavoie
Regis Lavoie
A complex operation
The rescuers had a lot to do to extirpate the first body, which was difficult to access.
A helicopter finally transported the body a few meters to be taken in hand by the emergency services after dislodging it from its unfortunate position in the middle of the afternoon.
Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
The body of the second sapper, Christopher Lavoie, 23, was located around 1:30 p.m., and was evacuated at the end of the day.
Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
“Infinite Sadness”
Passing through Baie-Saint-Paul, Prime Minister François Legault declared that the disappearance of two firefighters who gave their lives to save those of other citizens was of “infinite sadness”.
“We owe a lot to the first responders, to the firefighters, who did not hesitate,” he said.
Well aware of the comments made by the families of the victims on Tuesday, the Prime Minister nevertheless calls for caution regarding the circumstances of the incident. “It happened quickly, you have to be careful before making judgments about what has been done,” he said.
The mayoress of Saint-Urbain, Claudette Simard, also appeared in tears in front of the journalists in the morning.
“I read things in the media [mardi] which hurt me a lot. I find it very difficult to live with, much more than what awaits me in the coming days, ”she sighed, a tremolo in her voice.