Four dead after helicopter crashes near Montreal

Four people died after a helicopter crashed in a field in Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville, southeast of Montreal, on September 26, Quebec provincial police said. All four occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the crash and the victims’ identities had not been established in the reports available the following day. Police said they received a call shortly after 2:30 p.m. reporting that a helicopter had gone down near Rang des Écossais. The municipality is about 50 kilometres southeast of Montreal, in Quebec’s Montérégie region. The aircraft was found on fire, and emergency crews brought the blaze under control within about an hour, according to police accounts. A Sûreté du Québec spokesperson said the helicopter appeared to be private. Police had not released the names of the four people who died, and investigators had not determined what caused the crash. The reports do not establish whether the fire began before the helicopter hit the ground or resulted from the crash. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada sent, or planned to send, investigators to the site to gather information about the incident.