TORONTO -- Police say a 10-year-old boy died in Newfoundland on Christmas Day after the all-terrain vehicle he was riding alongside his father went through the ice.

The RCMP said in a news release that the boy was on a side-by-side ATV in Clarenville, N.L. when it broke through the ice.

He and his father had been driving across a pond, the RCMP said.

“The father tried unsuccessfully to get his son out of the water but the boy became trapped when the vehicle was submerged,” the news release said.

The local fire department, paramedics and community members rushed to attempt assistance.

The boy was trapped underwater for roughly one hour, police said.

When emergency services were able to retrieve him, he was taken immediately to hospital. Police said the boy was pronounced dead around 7 p.m.

Tributes began to pour in last night as the community started responding to the tragedy.

After the Clarenville Area Minor Hockey Association posted a Facebook tribute with a photo of a child’s hockey stick leaning against a front door, the comments section swelled with similar responses. Other families took photos of hockey sticks propped against their doors as well to show their support and condolences for the family.

Steven Thistle, president of the Clarenville Area Minor Hockey Association, confirmed to CTVNews.ca over email that the boy who died on Christmas Day was a part of the hockey association, and played in the Atom age group, which is generally for children from 9-10.

“Very sad and tragic for our town and association,” he wrote.

Over Facebook, the CAMHA expanded on the tribute photos, saying that it allowed not only community members but the “extended hockey family” to come together.

“Hockey was a very big part of his life,” they wrote of the boy. “At times like this, extended hockey families always come together to show support our young players and their families. Our sincere thoughts and prayers are sent to the family at this devastating time.”

Clarenville is on the east coast of Newfoundland, roughly 189 km away from St. John’s by car, and has a population of around 6,300.

In an email to CTVNews.ca, the RCMP said they extend “deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”