VANCOUVER -- A nine-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy from Abbotsford have been confirmed as victims of a deadly off-roading accident near Chilliwack Sunday.
The two children were on board the side-by-side style off-road vehicle with two adults and another child from the same family when police say it left the Foley Creek Forest Service Road around 1 p.m., falling an estimated 50 metres into a lake below.
According to RCMP, everyone on board was wearing helmets and seatbelts, but only the two adults and one child survived.
While the area is remote and without cell service, police say several people who were in the area saw the car roll into the lake, and jumped in to help.
"A male in a pontoon boat dove into the water in an attempt to rescue the family," Sgt. Krista Vrolyk with the Chilliwack RCMP said Monday.
"I believe at least two people went into the water and others were part of the emergency response by alerting the first responders how to get to the areas as quickly as possible."
Sadly, rescuers were not able to reach the two children.
Search and rescue crews and an RCMP dive team were called to the area and were able to recover the bodies on Sunday night. The area was challenging, with murky water and fallen trees below the surface, where the vehicle became lodged.
The three people who were rescued are in stable condition. Their ages have not been released. RCMP confirmed the family is from Abbotsford.
"A day of recreation turned in to every parent’s worst nightmare," Vrolyk said. "There is no indication of any criminality. This is honestly a very horrific tragedy."
On Monday afternoon, crews pulled the badly damaged side-by-side ATV from the lake and hauled it away with a tow truck.
The BC Coroners Service is also investigating.
