2 children dead after off-road vehicle rolls into lake near Chilliwack

UPDATE, May 4, 2020:Girl, 9, and boy, 10, identified as victims of off-road vehicle crash near Chilliwack

Two children who went missing after an off-road vehicle plunged into a lakeeast of Vancouver were found dead Sunday evening, police say.

"It is with deep sorrowthat we report that the bodies of two children have been recovered from this tragic accident," Chilliwack RCMP Sgt. Krista Vrolyk said in a statement.

RCMP saidthey were called to the area around 40 kilometres east of Chilliwack, B.C.,just before 1 p.m. PT.

Two adults and three children were riding an off-road vehicle on Foley Creek Forest Service Road near Foley Lake when theylost control and became submerged in more than four metres of water,Sgt. Vrolyk said.

Two adults and one of the children were able to escape, but two of the children were reported missing. It's not known how old they were.

The B.C. Coroners Service said in a statement Monday morning it is not disclosing the children's ages or genders "to protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of the deceased."

'Tragic accident'

Emergency crews and the RCMP's dive team were called to search the area.

Vrolyk said it was a "tragic accident."

In its statement, the coroners service saidit is in the early stages of investigatingand could not provide further details.

Guy Avidanwas camping with his girlfriend near the rapids staging area this weekend. He said he saw an RCMP vehicle entering the area at around 4 p.m. PT on Sunday when they were preparing to leave.

Avidan said there were many people in the area this weekend, despite the rain on Sunday. He was saddened to hear about the missing children, he said.

"This is a very popular area for off-roading and camping. There were lots of people camping," he said.

"You don't feel good about incidents like that."