Police, TSB investigating after three die in northwestern Quebec helicopter crash

D’ELVERT LAKE – Two men and a woman have been declared dead after a helicopter crash at a lake in northwestern Quebec.

One of the victims was declared dead at the scene on Monday morning while the others were recovered by provincial police divers and taken to hospital.

Police were called late Sunday concerning three people who had gone missing after taking off in a helicopter from Mont-Laurier, about 185 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

The helicopter was found the next morning at D’Elvert Lake in the La Vérendrye wildlife reserve, further northwest.

Police say bad weather may have played a role in the crash, and that the victims — a man in his 80s, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 20s — had contacted their loved ones before they disappeared to say they were planning to land and wait for better conditions.

Quebec provincial police are investigating the deaths along with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2024.