Quebec police announced Wednesday that two bodies have been found in the search zone where two firefighters went missing when they were swept away by rushing waters during a rescue operation to rescue citizens at risk from flooding.

The two volunteer firefighters, Christopher Lavoie, 23, and Regis Lavoie, 55, who were not related, were participating in an evacuation operation near Beau-Saint-Paul, about 100 kilometers north of Quebec City, when they disappeared in the afternoon of Monday.

Just before 10:00 [τοπική ώρα· 17:00 ώρα Ελλάδας] Yesterday, Wednesday, a helicopter “spotted a body,” Quebec provincial police spokesman Deputy Superintendent Stéphane Trebley told AFP. “We don’t have an official identification yet (…) but everything indicates that this is one of the two men who have been missing since Monday,” he added.

Later yesterday, Quebec police announced that a second body had been found, about five hundred meters from where the first was found.

“About 1:30 p.m [20:30]a second body was also spotted by a (police) helicopter,” Deputy Chief Beatrice Dorsenville said.

“We lost two men, two volunteer firefighters. It’s incredibly sad,” was the reaction of Quebec Premier Francois Legault via Facebook after visiting the region.

Torrential rains following the spring’s melting of snow and winter’s ice have prompted authorities to issue flood warnings across the province this week.

One hundred and five municipalities have declared emergency measures, while more than 600 homes have been damaged or flooded, according to the latest update from the Ministry of Public Security.