4 children dead after being swept by tide while fishing on Quebec's North Shore

Four children were confirmed dead by Canada's Quebec provincial police on Saturday after they were found unresponsive on a St. Lawrence River shoreline in Portneuf-sur-Mer on Quebec's North Shore, Report informs via CBC.

The children, all above the age of 10, were among a group of 11 people fishing on the river bank without a boat when a rising tide swept them away.

Six were rescued but five, including the four children, were reported missing at around 2 a.m. Rescue teams are searching for the fifth person — a man in his 30s.

The children were not breathing when they were recovered on the shore, according to police spokesperson Sgt. Catherine Bernard. They were transferred to the local health centre where a physician confirmed their deaths.

Quebec provincial police are searching for the missing man with all-terrain vehicles and by helicopter. Divers and Canadian Armed Forces soldiers are expected to assist in the the search.

"When it's low tide, you can fish a little further away from the shore. However, at some point the tide came back in and they were caught off guard when the tide started to rise," Bernard said in a phone interview.

Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel called the situation an "unnamable catastrophe" and a tragedy in an interview with Radio-Canada about wildfires.