The body of the Montreal firefighter who went missing after the rescue boat he was in capsized Sunday evening during a rescue mission in the St. Lawrence River was recovered Monday morning.
The firefighter’s body was recovered around 9 a.m. Rescuers were searching for him since he went missing in the Lachine rapids Sunday evening.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante offered her condolences during a news conference.
“My thoughts are with the family, but also with the entire community of firefighters who are doing remarkable work,” she said. “They give their lives to save others. That’s exactly what happened yesterday.”
Montreal police had deployed divers to free the firefighter.
Earlier Monday morning, Richard Liebmann, director of the Montreal fire department (SIM), had made a statement saying rescuers had located the firefighter under the rescue boat, which was submerged at the bottom of the Lachine rapids. He did not take questions from reporters.
He called the area “a very dangerous place for divers.”
Rescue boat capsized
Yesterday, at 7:09 p.m., SIM received a call for a broken-down boat drifting upstream of the rapids with two people on board, spokesperson Louise Desrosiers said Sunday.
Four firefighters responded to the distress signal and picked up the two people who had called for help. At around 7:30 p.m., the rescue boat itself capsized.
Rescue workers were able to recover everyone on board except the firefighter.
Monday morning, a helicopter and a rescue team from the provincial police were called in to search for the firefighter. A Canadian Armed Forces helicopter also participated in the search.
The five other people on board the rescue boat were taken to hospital. “There is no reason to fear for their lives,” said Fabienne Papin, a spokesperson for the city of Montreal.
Several units were involved in the search for the firefighter, including Montreal police’s nautical unit, the Canadian Coast Guard and a Sûreté du Québec helicopter.
Montreal firefighters, along with fire departments from Longueuil, Varennes, La Prairie, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Châteauguay, also helped with the operation.
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