Man dead after workplace incident at northern Alberta oilsands site

An investigation is underway after a man died following an incident at the Fort Hills oilsands site in northern Alberta on Monday.

A spokesperson for the construction firm Ledcor told Global News one of its employees was the person killed.

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David Hoff said the incident happened in the afternoon while the man was doing maintenance at the Suncor site.

Hoff said both Ledcor and Suncor were conducting investigations into the incident, as was a government agency. Which government agency that is was not disclosed.

“Emergency services were immediately contacted and attended on-site,” Hoff said, reading a statement after the incident occurred. “Professional grief counselling and support has been extended to all impacted personnel.

“Ledcor executives, managers and employees extend their thoughts and prayers to the deceased’s family, friends and work colleagues.”

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A spokesperson for Alberta Occupational Health and Safety told Global News OHS was notified of the incident and personnel were dispatched to the scene. On Wednesday, OHS said it issued a stop-work order for Ledcor a day earlier. The order affects any tailings work that uses powered equipment at the site. OHS said the order would stay in place until Ledcor completes a hazard assessment.

Hoff initially said all “local maintenance work” had been temporarily halted at the site after the incident unfolded.

The exact cause of death is not known. On Wednesday, OHS said the man who died was 24 years old.

The Fort Hills site is located about 85 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.