Four identified after helicopter crash near Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville; SQ Major Crimes Unit investigating

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A helicopter crash on Quebec’s South Shore killed four people on Saturday afternoon, and provincial police have opened a major-crimes investigation as the victims were identified through tributes posted by family members and friends.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said the crash occurred at about 2:30 p.m. in the municipality of Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville, in the Montérégie region, roughly 50 kilometres southeast of Montreal. Investigators were seeking to determine how the helicopter came down and why it caught fire.

Three of the passengers were identified by Océane Perreault, including her husband, Gabriel Jasmin, as well as her mother, Chantal Raymond, and her brother, Loucas Perreault. In tributes posted to Facebook, Perreault described the flight as a helicopter ride meant to celebrate Raymond’s birthday.

Perreault wrote that three people she loved were taken “right before my eyes,” adding that she had been left with shock and emptiness following the loss. Jasmin was identified in the tributes as a host of a show at a Sherbrooke-based radio station, and Perreault said they had a daughter together.

The fourth victim was identified as the pilot, Suzanne Jutras, 50. Her husband, Yves Boulais, was described in the tributes as a field crop farmer and a former dairy farmer in the region, and he was also identified by the regional farmers’ union that posted condolences on Facebook.

A tribute from Syndicat UPA Haut-Richelieu said Jutras’ death was met with condolences from the union’s board of directors and the farming community, directed to Boulais, his family, and others affected by the tragedy.

SQ said its Major Crimes Unit is investigating the crash. The Transportation Safety Board’s investigators were also reported to be on site Saturday, indicating that the incident is being assessed for matters related to transportation safety alongside the broader criminal or major-incident inquiry.