LAC-AU-SAUMON, QUE. -- A third person has been pronounced dead in the crash Bas-Saint-Laurent crash involving a pickup truck and a 10-wheeler. 

Among the fatalities was a child, according to the Surete du Quebec (SQ). Three other children are in critical condition. 

Around 11 a.m., a call to emergency services prompted a response to a collision at the intersection of Route 132 and Saint-Edmond St. in Lac-au-Saumon in eastern Quebec, said SQ spokesperson Beatrice Dorsainville.

A total of seven people were involved in the accident, including six in the truck.

"Three people died, all occupants of the trucks, including the driver, who was an octogenarian, the passenger who was in his 30s and a five-year-old child," said Dorsainville. 

Rte-132 is closed while the SQ investigation is ongoing. A detour has been established.

An SQ investigator specializing in accident reconstruction has been dispatched to the scene to shed light on the accident.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 5, 2021.