A six-year-old child has died following a sledding accident Monday afternoon near a sports centre in Chambly, Que., an off-island suburb of Montreal.
Emergency services received a call at around 3 p.m. regarding a child who had sustained serious head injuries near the Robert-Lebel centre where there is a sledding hill in the park.
The victim was transported to a hospital in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where they were later pronounced dead.
Police confirmed the child was sliding on the hill at the time emergency services were called, though specific details regarding the circumstances of the accident have not been released. Police have not said if the victim was a boy or a girl.
Sgt. Marie-Ève Bélanger with the Richelieu Saint-Laurent police service said the hill is designated for sledding in Robert-Lebel Park, which has other sports and recreation infrastructure.
When asked if the child hit something or was sledding in the proper area, she said the incident is still under investigation.
Forensic identification technicians and investigators were on the scene Monday to determine the events leading up to the death. A coroner’s investigation has also been initiated.
This comes after the death of a four-year-old child was announced earlier in the day in western Quebec. In that case, the girl was injured when an adult fell on top of her on a cross-country ski trail north of Gatineau last week.
About two weeks earlier, a 13-year-old girl was fatally injured when her clothing got caught on a chairlift while she was downhill skiing at a nearby resort.
