A man feared missing after an early morning swim in Riviere des Prairies was found sleeping on the banks of a small island.

The Laval fire department was alerted around 2:30 a.m. that two men aged 24 and 27 were in distress while swimming between Ile Paton and Ile aux Chats, downstream from the Louis Bisson Bridge between Laval and Montreal. The islands are at least 150 metres apart.

Firefighters were able to save the 27-year-old man, but his friend was nowhere to be found, prompting fears the man had drowned.

After a two-hour search, the 24-year-old was found on the shores of the Ile aux Chats, asleep.