Three residents of Quebec died after an avalanche in the Chic-Chocs Mountains in the Gaspé Peninsula of the province.

The Quebec Provincial Police received a distress call at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday from a person who was riding a snowmobile in the Lamarter sector near Mont Médille, where an avalanche occurred, and they reported three other people missing.

The group of four was riding snowmobiles – essentially dirt bikes equipped with a front ski and caterpillar track at the back.

The authorities began a ground search operation. Firefighters from nearby Sainte-Anne-des-Monts were dispatched along with ambulance crews to support the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) avalanche team.

The three snowmobile riders were found around 11 p.m. Frédéric Deschais, a spokesperson for the special security forces, said they were transported to the hospital where they were declared dead.

The men who died were identified by the coroner's office as Joël Crite, 35, from Koatikok, Nicolas Fanand, 30, from Koatikok, and Brian Forge Morisset, 33, from Saint-Denis-de-Brampton.

Jacques Verrichia, owner of Sled Den who provides lessons and guides in the Chic-Chocs Mountains, heard about the incident Tuesday evening.

Verrichia said, "We decided to go there and see if we could help." "By the time we arrived, we knew for sure there would be no rescue."

By the time all crew members reached the site and began the recovery operation, he said more than three hours had passed.

Verrichia added, "We did not have enough men to do what we had to do."

He says the men who were riding their snowmobiles probably did not have the necessary experience to be in that part of the mountain.

Verrichia said the only person in the group who managed to avoid the avalanche had gone to the side and was taking photos.

Verrichia added, "There was a man walking across the summit and there were two men in the avalanche area; when he left, that man slid and directly hit the other two men who were directly below."

Verrichia confirmed he does not allow any of his employees to ride in that area because of the high risk of an avalanche.

While emergency crews did their best, he says coordinating a rescue operation takes time – while people trapped under accumulated snow only have 10 to 15 minutes.

Verrichia said, "We are on the east coast, so we assume that it will never, ever, ever happen, and unfortunately, it did." "We assume that we are all safe there, and that is our biggest problem."

On Facebook, Avalanche Québec said the incident took place in one of the valleys and a size 2.5 avalanche was reported. According to Avalanche Canada, there are five avalanche size levels and size 2 is "large enough to bury, injure or kill a person."

Dominique Boucher, of Avalanche Québec, said interviews will be conducted with people involved in the rescue operation to understand the cause of the avalanche.

Boucher said, "Many factors can play a role, natural factors related to snow conditions, heavy snowfall over the weekend, rising temperatures."

"On Tuesday we went from relatively cold temperatures on Monday to warmer temperatures throughout the day, with temperatures rising to 5 degrees Celsius in the valley."

He said this is the first incident involving people and resulting in deaths in an avalanche in Gaspé Park this year.

Since last Thursday, Boucher says the sector where the incident occurred has received a large amount of snow – from 30 to 50 cm.

Although this specific sector is not in the forecast area covered by the Avalanche Québec Chic-Chocs bulletin, Boucher said they issued a warning over the weekend that lasted until Monday evening.

Boucher said, "It was posted on our website and shared on Facebook asking people to be vigilant due to the increased risk of avalanches."

He says this sector is sometimes very popular among snow vehicle drivers or snow bikers because it provides easy access to the mountains.

According to Avalanche Québec’s daily bulletin, the avalanche danger was considered moderate in alpine areas on Tuesday, with increased danger in certain sectors of the Chic-Chocs.

Under these conditions, avalanches can occur in isolated areas or can be triggered by human intervention, according to the site.