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After eating a hearty breakfast in La Tuque, Benôit Lespérance and eight French tourists set off on their snowmobiles Tuesday morning for a 200-kilometre ride to the picturesque Lac-Saint-Jean region.

Lespérance, a 42-year-old guide from Montreal, and his group were heading to an auberge in the town of St-Gédéon, an area popular with Quebec snowmobile enthusiasts and tourists from France. As they rounded Lac-Saint-Jean, the group was travelling on a marked trail that’s monitored regularly by volunteers.

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But before 7 p.m., the group left the main trail, probably to take a short cut to the auberge. As they crossed a channel near the lake, seven of the snowmobiles plunged into the water — about 2.5 kilometres from the marked trail.

Lespérance died in the accident and five of the tourists are still missing. Two of the tourists managed to pull a third from the water. All three were treated for shock, said Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu, an SQ spokesperson.