A 24-year-old man is in critical condition after an explosion at a sweet gas well southwest of Edson.
The explosion happened at about 11: 30 a.m. on Monday at a Husky Energy site near the hamlet of Robb, said Occupational Health and Safety spokesman Barrie Harrison. No one was killed, Harrison said, and OHS is investigating the incident.
STARS air ambulance transported a 24-year-old man in critical condition to the University of Alberta Hospital, said spokesman Cam Heke. Other patients were also transported to Edmonton via airplane and ground ambulance, Heke said.
The RCMP reported 12 injuries and said patients were transported to Edson hospital by ground ambulance. Three were sent to a burn unit in Edmonton. The Edson Fire Department extinguished the fire, and RCMP secured the scene, said spokeswoman Doris Stapleton.
The explosion was caused by a flash fire, said Graham White, spokesman for Husky Energy. The injured were contract employees. White called it "an extremely rare" occurrence and said the company has sent an investigation team to the site.
The men were preparing to fracture the well with propane, said Energy Resources Conservation Board spokesman Bob Curran. Fracturing involves sending high pressure liquids down a well bore to causes fissures in dense rock, allowing trapped natural gas to escape into the well and be pumped to the surface. Curran said it is common to use propane in fracking operations.
He said no natural gas was released in the explosion.
The well site is approximately 40 kilometres southwest of Edson.
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