Three people have been transported to hospital following a Sunday morning explosion at a mine in southeast British Columbia.
According to B.C. Ambulance officials, the explosion at Teck’s Greenhills mine, north of the town of Elkford, occurred in the operation’s pulverising room. Three people standing outside of the room, two men and a woman, suffered second and third degree burns as a result of the blast.
Two of the injured people were transported by ambulance to a hospital in the town of Sparwood, B.C., while the third was transported to Fernie, B.C. The injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
A STARS Air Ambulance crew airlifted one of the patients, a 53-year-old man, to the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary for additional medical treatment of his burns. The patient was transported in serious but stable condition.
Elkford councillor Mandy McGregor says the incident will have a huge impact on the 'tight-knit community'.
“If you don’t know who was involved, you’re going to know someone who knows who was involved," explains McGregor. "We’re a small community. The first thing that goes through anybody’s mind is who do I know there?”
Al Hoffman, British Columbia's Chief Inspector of Mines, confirms the cause of the 'flash fire' is under investigation.
