Fording River worker dies

Pat Dwyer, an Alberta based contractor from Lundbreck, died while working at Teck’s Fording River mine when the floating excavator he was operating upset in a tailings pond.

The accident happened at 8:40am on Monday April 10th and Dwyer was trapping underneath the excavator. Dyers body was recovered Wednesday afternoon, he had more than 50 years’ experience in equipment operation and excavation.

The RCMP, the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and the United Steel Workers are investigating the accident.

A statement from Teck Resources stated that the incident involved no other workers and Teck expressed their condolences. “We wish to extend our most sincere condolences to the Pat Dwyer’s family, friends and colleagues. We are all deeply saddened by this tragic incident and loss of life,” said Robin Sheremeta, Senior Vice President, Coal. “Pat had deep roots in his community and will be profoundly missed. Our focus going forward is on providing counselling and support to employees and conducting an investigation to understand how this incident occurred and prevent it from happening again.”

It is an unfortunate accident however one to question the safety of floating excavators. Several incidents of floating excavators upsetting in rivers and ponds can be seen on YouTube.

* Photos shown are from YouTube