A 63-year-old man died in a seaplane crash on Sunday followingnoon in the Saint-Maurice River in Shawinigan.
The crash occurred shortly following the seaplane-type aircraft took off around 3:45 p.m., according to initial reports.
The machine would then have struck and severed Hydro-Quebec cables, explains Geneviève Gagnon, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
Photo QMI Agency, Jean-Simon Hubert
It then hit the water upside down, sinking in seconds to its floats, according to a witness.
Due to the electric wires that littered the river, the witnesses might not have provided help in the minutes following the accident.
Fifteen minutes later, first responders, including the Shawinigan Fire Department, arrived on the scene.
Photo QMI Agency, Jean-Simon Hubert
A 63-year-old man was pulled from the seaplane. He was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
It is still unknown how many individuals were on board.
Divers from the SQ as well as teams from Hydro-Québec and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada also visited the site.
Photo QMI Agency, Jean-Simon Hubert
Major crime investigators and the coroner’s office are mandated to understand the circumstances of this tragic event.
Dangerous sector
According to regulars in the area, the wires crossing the Saint-Maurice River at this height would not be marked.
Photo QMI Agency, Jean-Simon Hubert
Hydro-Québec reported, at the start of the evening, that just over 5,900 homes were without electricity. Power returned in the evening.
– With QMI Agency
- In 2007, a Cessna seaplane struck electrical wires in the same area during a water landing. The two occupants of the machine escaped unscathed.
