A pair of men from the West Island have died after emergency officials rushed to their aid in the waters of the Lake of Two Mountains near Oka at around 6 p.m. Saturday.

It is believed that the two fell into the choppy, frigid waters after their boat capsized due to high winds and waves.

Saint-Placide resident Joe Rodrigue said his neighbour notified 911 after spotting one of the two on the shore at dinner time.

Officers retrieved the man and attempted to revive him at the scene, said Rodrigue.



"They tried... they tried the whole time before the ambulance came, but I don't think anything worked out for them," said Rodrigue.

Shortly after, Rodrigue's son spotted a second victim on the shore while rescuers were busy trying to revive the first victim.



"The ambulance came, and my girlfirned and my kid decided to see if there was a boat or anything that they could find and when they walked down the street a little further down, they discovered a second body that was floating," said Rodrigue.

Both men were taken to hospital, where they died.



The pair has been identified as 31-year-old Craig Walker from Pierrefonds and Ray Adams, 34, from Dollard-des-Ormeaux.



The waves on the lake were several feet high, said Rodrigue.



"Last night it must have been 20 to 25 knots of wind and the waves were two to three feet," he said.



Autopsies will be performed later this week.



Many sailboat owners at a nearby marina said that though they took their boats out of storage, it was poor weather for sailing.



"It was bad yesterday and even today. It's too windy -- unless you're an experienced navigator," said sailor Flocel Cloutier, who said he would not have ventured out during the high winds and waves.



The drowning takes place just as the annual boat safety week gets underway.



Last year, about 100 Canadians died on lakes and rivers from coast to coast.



Small boats are particularly vulnerable to high winds on sizeable lakes.



Safety experts say when the water is this cold, a life jacket is not enough to save a life.



"In the cold water, with the cold water shock, if they stay in the water for more than an hour that's maybe why they died," said Reynald Hawkins, director of the Lifesaving Society of Canada's Quebec branch.

"It could be hypothermia, it could be a lot of things, so the autopsy is going be very important," said SQ's Ronald McInnis.



Autopsies will be performed later this week.



