Police in Les Collines-de-l’Outaouais, Que., say divers have recovered the body of a man who drowned after attempting to save a woman who was in distress in the Ottawa River over the weekend.
Police say the 53-year-old man jumped off a pontoon to rescue the woman who was floundering near Mohr Island, which lies in the middle of the waterway, almost directly on the border between Ontario and Quebec, about an hour’s drive from the Ottawa-Gatineau area.
Police say the man, who hails from Pontiac, Que., was not wearing a safety vest as he sank below the water.
The woman was rescued by another man, according to media reports.
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After the man disappeared in the water, police say firefighters and boaters from both sides of the border sprang into action and began to search for him.
On Monday, police said the Ottawa Police Nautical Squad had criss-crossed the area for much of the night but had failed to find the missing man.
Officers from MRC des Collines and the Sûreté du Québec continued the search on Tuesday before SQ divers found the man’s body at around 12:45 p.m.
They say it took the divers about an hour to bring his body to shore and confirm his identity.
Police say the death is currently believed to be accidental, but they are waiting for the result of a coroner’s autopsy.
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