UPDATE - APRIL 7th, 2014 11:36am
United Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said the worker was killed when a pin on a crusher broke and was released at high pressure
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UPDATE - APRIL 7th, 2014 11:15am
The following statement was issued at the 10:30 press conference:
Thank you all for coming on this very sad day in our operations. I'm going to read a brief statement and then I'll do my best to answer some questions at the end
I'm extremely saddened to inform you that we had an employee sustain fatal injuries at the casting and crushing area of the Copper Cliff Smelter on April the 6th at 6:00pm.
This individual was found with no vital signs and was subsequently pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene. Another employee involved in the incident was taken to the hospital and treated where he remains in stable condition.
All other employees at the smelter were accounted for.
Immediate family of the man have been notified and we offer them our full support as they start to cope with there loss.
The name of this individual will be withheld out of repsect for the family until they have had time to communicate this to close friends and relatives.
At this point in time all that I can tell you is this employee was 36 years old and had 2 years of service with our company.
Our critical injuries and stress management is onsite at the smelter to offer personnel and support to individuals, crew and friends. Also our family and assistance program is available to all employees that need ongoing support during this very difficult time."
The smelter was brought down to a safe state last evening and all of our employees were sent home with pay. In addition to the smelter, Matte Processing was also turned down to a safe state. Other processes upstream and downstream from the smelter will be evaluated and according over the next couple of days.
This incident is being investigated by the Ministry of Labour, Greater Sudbury Police Services, Vale and United Steel Workers Local 6500.
Right now our priority is to understand what happened and provide support to the families as best we can.
We don't have a lot of information available at this time but it will become clearer as we start our investigation process.
Words cannot express how devastated we are by the loss of this man. It is an extremely bad time for us all, but even more so for the individuals family and his loved ones. Our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers prayers go out to them at this time
The two individuals involved in the accident were industrial mechanics working within the casting and crushing area of the Copper Cliff Smelter.
They were discovered by the superintendent that was on shift that evening.
The two individuals involved have about 20 years experience, most of it prior to working at Vale in these types of areas.
The death is the fourth of a Vale employee in Sudbury on the job in less than three years.
Vale believes that these individuals had sufficient training.
Still to early in the investigation to tell exactly what happened
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APRIL 7th, 2104 7:00am - On April 6th. 2014 at approximately 6:30pm Sudbury Emergence Services were called to attend the Vale smelter located at 155 Balsam Street in Copper Cliff regarding a mining accident. Two adult Vale employees were involved in the accident while working at the casting/crushing plant and tragically a 36 year old man succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced at the scene while the second man (28 year old) suffered serious injuries and was transported to HSN for treatment and he is now in stable condition. The Ministry of Labour was contacted and attended the scene and collectively with members of the Greater Sudbury Police the investigation continues. We'll update this story as information becomes available.
Vale issued this release this morning:
Vale regretfully announces that an employee was fatally injured Sunday evening while working at the Casting/Crushing Plant at the Copper Cliff Smelter. The employee was found unconscious and without vital signs, and was subsequently pronounced dead on the scene by medical personnel. Another employee was involved and treated in hospital.
The immediate family has been notified, however, the name of the employee is being withheld pending completion of the notification process.
“We are saddened beyond words by the loss of this employee,” said Kelly Strong, Vice President Ontario and UK Operations. “We extend our deepest condolences to the employee’s family, co-workers and friends. We are focusing our efforts on trying to understand exactly what happened, and on supporting the family and our employees as best we can.”