Truckers involved in three separate incidents across Canada

NATIONAL (Canadian OH&S News)

An RCMP dive team in British Columbia has recovered the body of a trucker whose vehicle plunged into a lake.

The police were tipped off by passersby who noticed debris floating in Shuswap Lake, near Chase, B.C., and damage to the cement barricades on March 5 at about 6:30 in the morning, though it was unclear when the truck, which was carrying frozen meat products, went into the water.

When police arrived on scene, the tractor-trailer unit was fully submerged in the lake and the trailer, which had broken free, was floating in the mouth of the Little River, according to a news release from the Chase RCMP detachment. A search and rescue team from Salmon Arm, B.C. was called in, who set up containment for the diesel fuel that had been leaking out as well as began a search along the shoreline for the driver’s body using a kayak and boat.

With no luck finding the body along the shoreline, a dive team came in around noon and the body was recovered three hours later, about 10 metres away from the wreckage in the lake, Chase RCMP said in the statement. The truck and trailer were also recovered.

The Coroners Service of British Columbia identified the trucker as Gurminder Singh Minmhas, a 30-year-old resident of Grand Prairie, Alta. The investigation is being conducted by the Central Interior Traffic Services and the coroners service.

Jet fuel truck rolls over at Calgary airport

Little more than a week after, on the evening of March 11, city firefighters responded to a rollover at Calgary International Airport.

A fuel truck containing around 10,000 litres of jet fuel was on the tarmac when it tipped over. Emergency crews were forced to drill a hole in the fuel compartment to drain the truck, and the fuel was transferred to another vehicle before a tow truck could flip the vehicle shiny side up. The driver sustained minor injuries, the Calgary Fire Department reported, but did not need to go to hospital. A small amount of fuel leaked out but was contained.

In northern Quebec the same day, a truck driver in a convoy transporting materials to the Renard diamond mine was killed.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the driver. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time,” said Matt Manson, president and CEO of Stornoway Diamond Corporation, which owns the mine.

A news release from Stornoway said the company is providing support to the family, colleagues and third-party contractors involved in the incident. The Quebec police and the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail were investigating.

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