A Ukrainian refugee who recently arrived in Quebec has gone missing after he went swimming in a river southeast of Quebec City.

Laura Torres, who works with a group that helps immigrants settle into the region, says the young man had fled the war in Ukraine and arrived in Quebec this month.

Torres says she was with the man's mother on Wednesday when the woman called police about her missing son.

Quebec provincial police say they are looking for a man in his 20s who disappeared after going for a swim in a river in St-Anselme, Que., but they have not confirmed his identity.

Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu says police received a call around midnight from family members who were concerned that he had not returned.

Beaulieu says police searched the riverbanks early this morning with the help of local firefighters, adding that they were joined by divers and a helicopter later in the day.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 20, 2023