Two toddlers drowned in separate incidents in residential pools on Friday evening, a few hours apart, in the Lanaudière and Montérégie regions.
The most recent tragedy occurred around 8:45 p.m., in Sorel-Tracy.
“Emergency services were called on rue de Ramezay in Sorel-Tracy after a 2-year-old toddler was found underwater in a swimming pool, behind a private residence,” said Anik Lamirande, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec.
The first responders attempted to resuscitate the child and he was rushed hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
READ MORE: Montreal Children’s Hospital stresses water safety after 2 children drown in backyard pools
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Another child, almost the same age, was discovered in similar circumstances in Lanaudière.
Emergency services were called at around 6 p.m. on chemin Georges in Saint-Paul, after a 2-year-old was found inanimate in a residential swimming pool.
Again, resuscitation maneuvers were performed on the young victim, but to no avail. She was pronounced dead in hospital.
The Sûreté du Québec is conducting two separate investigations into these two tragedies.
As of July 10, the Société de Sauvetage had recorded 42 drownings in Quebec in 2020, ten more than the same date last year.
They point to several heatwaves in Quebec, the first coming even before the official arrival of summer, which have prompted Quebecers to cool off in swimming pools and natural bodies of water, where adolescents and adults have also drowned.
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