The search resumed Sunday morning to find the 27-year-old fisherman who had fallen off the boat since Saturday evening.
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The man was reported missing at the end of the day when a divers team was stopped from 11 a.m. in Saratoga to Quebec (SQ) to assist the Service de Police de la Ville de Montreal (SPVM). A provincial police helicopter was also dispatched at 3 p.m.
A marine team from SPVM has also been on patrol in the river water since 1am.
With the loan of a boat and a helicopter the Coast Guard helps with the resumption of operations. The La Prairie Fire Department also mobilized a boat to assist in the search.
The 12-foot boat broke off just after 7pm on Saturday, said Louis Tesrociers, division head of the Montreal Fire Department.
There were three adults on board, two of whom could be brought ashore.
Passengers would have rented the boat through a Facebook ad and then taken their seats on the boat near a Sadague Marina. After a while, the small boat broke down.
“When we arrived there was no third person, we did not know there was a third person. We could see the man holding a jacket, we could see another jacket, but it was moving further,” explained Mylena Espenell, a witness to the events.
It will be 34e Submerged in Quebec since the beginning of the year.
“I say this once again in a way that honors those who have lost family members. If they were wearing life jackets, there would definitely be a reference to what they have to say,” lamented Reynold Hawkins, general manager of the Quebec Rescue Association.
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