Jean Langevin, 59, passed away at Sacré-Coeur hospital Friday evening.
He was the director general of the city of Bromont.
Langevin was taking part in the Charles-Bruneau paddling event, with dozens of other kayakers Friday afternoon, when his kayak was involved in an accident.
“Mr. Pierre Bruneau and the entire foundation offer their sincere condolences to Mr. Langevin’s family, those close to him and to the city Bromont, said the foundation in a statement. ” The circumstances surrounding the accident still remain to be clarified.”
When the incident occurred the group was paddling through the White Horse Rapids, which flows between Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Laval.
Firefighters and rescuers were out on the water in a desperate attempt to save Langevin’s life.
“When we arrived on the scene, we were quickly informed that two kayakers were trapped,” said Sylvain Gariépy from the Laval Fire Department. “A woman was rescued, but the other was trapped underneath the water.”
Officials say Langevin was with a woman in a double kayak when they got caught up in a current that pushed them up against a buoy.
The pair’s kayak then got tangled with the chain that holds the buoy in place.
According to Laval firefighters, they can’t say how long Langevin was underwater for, but said it took them around three minutes to rescue him.
According to Gariépy, firefighters pulled Langevin from the water and performed CPR. When his heart started beating again, he was transported to Sacré-Cœur hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
The woman in the kayak was also transported to hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia and nervous shock.
“I feel sad because for us, for everyone, for this foundation – it’s an event that we don’t want to have to go through,” said Pierre Bruneau, from the Charles-Bruneau foundation.
The Charles-Bruneau circuit is a four-day event, 110 km tour around the island of Montreal that raises money for children with cancer.
This was the third year the paddling event took place and the first year the injured kayaker took part.
The foundation says they’ve never had an accident like this before and have cancelled the remainder of the event.
— Editor’s note, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated Mr. Langevin’s age as 47 years old.
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