Search and rescue teams spot the missing firefighter submerged in the river

A firefighter from the Montreal Fire Department (SSIM) was spotted Monday morning after going under the water of the St. Lawrence River the day before, in Montreal, while rescuing the occupants of a small boat in distress.

The firefighter from the Montreal Fire Department (SSIM) went under the water of the St. Lawrence River on Sunday, in Montreal, while rescuing the occupants of a small boat in distress.

Crews used a camera to confirm that the firefighter's body is trapped under the boat.

Liebmann said the retrieval of his colleague will be exceedingly difficult due to the rapid currents in the Lachine Rapids. It is, he said, too dangerous to send divers into the fast moving water.

Several emergency services were mobilized before dawn to try to locate the firefighter. Teams from the La Prairie, Longueuil, Varennes and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu fire departments were working alongside their Montreal counterparts, as were water patrol officers from the Montreal Police Department (SPVM).