Alert to prudence after enforced bath in the river

The municipality of Sainte-Martine is putting its citizens on guard as to the risks of venturing out on water surfaces in winter following an incident that took place on Monday, January 4. A group of youngsters went to the Chateauguay River and one of them fell into the water. He succeeded in disembarking after reaching the bank on the other side ,” said City spokesperson Audrey Caza. “Happily, everyone is safe and sound but that could have been tragic ,” Sainte-Martine officials commented on the town’s Facebook page. The communique reminds people of the instructions of the Life-saving Society before one practises an activity on a frozen water surface. It consists of observing the colour of the ice, examining the environment and measuring the thickness of the ice. “The blue and transparent ice is usually the most resistant,” the group indicates notably. The ice is also thinner or completely absent in the presence of the current. “If the thickness of the ice is seven centimetres or less, do not venture there,” the Lifesaving Society advises. In this month of January that is milder than usual, the Chateauguay River is only partially frozen between Lake Saint-Louis and Sainte-Martine. Lake Saint-Louis is always in running water. Translation Dan Rosenburg