A man and a woman have died after becoming trapped due to the wildfires raging in southeastern Manitoba, RCMP announced today.
At a press conference near the community of Lac du Bonnet, RCMP announced they had recovered the bodies of both the man and the woman. They said they recovered the bodies just off Wendigo Road in the RM of Lac du Bonnet on the morning of Wednesday, May 14. Supt. Chris Hastie, commander of Manitoba RCMP’s East District, said it was believed they died from injuries sustained in the fire.
“We were aware that these individuals had been trapped in the fire,” Hastie said. “Due to extreme conditions yesterday afternoon, emergency personnel were not able to reach the location until this morning.”
Hastie added police cannot confirm the identities of the victims until their autopsies are done. He also said there were no other reports of people unaccounted for in the area.
“This has been an incredibly challenging time for the community,” he said, “and no doubt today’s tragic news will make it even more difficult.”
Hastie also asked residents to avoid the active fire area and let crews do their work, and said drone activity in the region had already resulted in some firefighting aircraft being grounded.
