A Canadian guide died and five French tourists were missing after their snowmobiles plunged through ice into freezing water in northern Quebec, police said Wednesday.

The group were riding near where a river exits the Saint-Jean lake, and were outside the approved area for snowmobiles, police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu told AFP. Nine people, including the excursion guide, were on the trip when the ice broke underneath them in the dark on Tuesday evening.

Police said they were alerted by two of the tourists who had rescued a third tourist from the water.

The 42-year-old guide was pulled out by emergency response teams and taken to hospital, but he died overnight, Beaulieu said, adding "five French tourists are still missing."