Two injured after pleasure boat collides with ferry north of Quebec City

A woman was seriously injured after the small boat she was riding in collided with a ferry in the St. Lawrence River north of Quebec City, provincial police said Sunday.

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Beatrice Dorsainville said the woman was one of four people in the boat, all of whom fell in the water after the collision.

Dorsainville said all four were rescued but two people in their 50s suffered injuries. She said the woman’s life is not in danger.

Marie-Eve Caron, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Coast Guard, said the four people were evacuated by one of the ferry’s lifeboats and that they were attended to by paramedics.

The ferry will be inspected by Transport Canada, she said in an email Sunday, adding that the other vessel, a 12.2 metre motorboat, sunk.

Bruno Verreault, a spokesman for ferry operator the Societe des traversiers du Quebec, said the collision took place as the ferry approached a dock in Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, Que., adding that an internal investigation will take place.

He said it’s too early to say whether the ferry, which had been leased from a private company, has been damaged and when it may return to service.

The ferry was involved in two incidents last fall, including one where it hit a dock.

It is one of the ferries that provide the only connection to the mainland for L’Isle-aux-Coudres, Que., home to around 1,000 people.

The other ferry, MV Felix-Antoine-Savard, remains in service. It returned to operation last month after undergoing major repairs after it ran aground in February.

The incident is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board.