Montreal

Quebec snowmobile deaths at 7-year high

At least three Quebecers were killed in snowmobile incidents on Saturday, bringing the total of fatalities this season to 26 — the highest it’s been in at least seven years.

3 deaths on Saturday alone on Quebec roads and snowmobile trails

Quebec snowmobile fatalities are at their highest in at least seven years. (Stock photo)

At least three Quebecers were killed in snowmobile incidents on Saturday, bringing the total of fatalities this season to 26 — the highest it’s been in at least seven years.

On Saturday, a 42-year-old man died in hospital after his snowmobile veered off the St-Modeste, Que., road he was travelling on.

A nine-year-old boy also died on Saturday after being struck by a snowmobile during a family outing in Ste-Élisabeth-de-Proulx, in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region.

And finally, a 43-year-old man died on Lac Louisa in Wentworth in the province’s Argenteuil region after losing control of the machine he was driving.

Sgt. Claude Denis of the Sûreté du Québec said the reasons for many of the 26 deaths this season are due to loss of control, as well as inexperience driving a snowmobile and venturing out onto lakes and rivers.

He said four people died after going out onto the ice this year.