Charles-Antoine Desautels, M.B.
Simon Lalonde, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
On October 24, 2013, Charles-Antoine Desautels and Simon Lalonde rescued a female co-worker who had fallen from a footbridge into the St. Lawrence River, in Sept-Îles, Quebec. The workers were leaving their construction site when the woman fell four metres into the freezing water. Her safety vest did not deploy and she began to sink under water. Without any thought for their own safety, Messrs. Desautels and Lalonde jumped from the footbridge, pulled the victim to the surface, and towed her back to the dock where others were able to help them get out of the water.