MONTREAL -- Within the space of a few hours, two toddlers drowned in residential pools Friday evening in Quebec.
The initial report from the Canadian Press said one, but another tragedy was added.
The first drowning occurred around 8:45 p.m. in Sorel-Tracy, about an hour east of Montreal.
“Emergency services were called on rue de Ramezay in Sorel-Tracy after a 2.5-year-old toddler was found underwater in a swimming pool, behind a private residence,” said Surete du Quebec (SQ) spokesperson Anik Lamirande.
First responders tried to resuscitate the child, before he was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Another child, almost the same age, was discovered in similar circumstances in Lanaudière.
Emergency services were called at around 6 p.m. to Georges Road in Saint-Paul, after a 2-year-old toddler was found unconscious in another residential swimming pool.
Again, resuscitation manoeuvres were performed on the young victim, but to no avail. Her death was pronounced in hospital.
The SQ is conducting two separate investigations to clarify the circumstances of these two tragedies.
As of July 10, the Lifesaving Society has reported 42 drownings in Quebec in 2020, ten more than the same date last year.
Friday’s victims are the third and fourth toddlers reported in the past month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2020.
