Ottawa police say their dive team has recovered the body of a 10-year-old Toronto-area boy who was swept under the water Saturday afternoon at a Constance Bay beach in the national capital.

Ottawa police tweeted late Saturday night that the boy's body had been found, and that it was a "sad and tragic incident."

The first 911 call came in around 3:45 p.m. After more than two hours of searching, Duty Insp. Mark Patterson said the search had moved into "recovery mode."

There's an ORNGE air ambulance on the beach a couple 100m from the main search <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/EDEXl8Re4R">pic.twitter.com/EDEXl8Re4R</a> —@matthewkupfer

The boy and his 20-year-old brother had been in the river in a spot where "the gradual sloping sand suddenly drops off to a depth of approximately 15 feet with swift moving current," according to Ottawa paramedics.

"The child slipped into the deep fast moving water and began to have difficulties," paramedics said, adding that his older brother tried to help but also "ran into difficulties as neither were strong swimmers."

The 20-year-old man was rescued from the waters but the boy was swept under, Patterson said Saturday evening.

"The older boy is being treated in a local hospital right now in relation to the trauma that he faced," he said.

The boy went into the waters near Bayview Drive. (Google Maps)

The brothers were visiting relatives in Ottawa. Their mother and father, who live in the Greater Toronto Area, have been notified, according to police.