A weekend fishing trip in northeastern Quebec ended in tragedy with the deaths of four children and one adult.

Police say responded to an emergency call at about 2:00am on Saturday about a group swept up by the rising tide near the village of Portneuf-sur-Mer, some 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

Initially, responding officers found the bodies of four people, all minors older than 10, on the bank of the St. Lawrence River.

A man in his 30’s was found hours later in the river and pronounced dead at a hospital.

According to investigators, the five were in a group of 11 people who were out walking near the shore in search of capelin, a silvery smelt fish, when they were caught off guard by the incoming tide.

Local mayor Jean-Maurice Tremblay says he didn’t know more about the victims or if they were from the community of some 600 people.

Police investigators and forensic teams are investigate to help shed light on the tragic incident.