A man is dead following a freak accident in Alberta this weekend.
According to a statement from Suncor Energy, on Friday, a dozer broke through the ice of an inactive tailings pond at the company's base plant in Fort McMurray. The operator of the equipment, Patrick Poitras, was immediately declared unaccounted for.
On Saturday, Suncor recovered Poitras' body and confirmed his death.
"It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we can now confirm the death of our co-worker Patrick Poitras, an employee of Christina River Construction," wrote the company. "Emergency responders completed their recovery efforts this evening at our Base Plant operation."
"Patrick will forever remain in our thoughts. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and co-workers."
Those affected by the incident can access virtual or on-site counselling from professionals at the company.
NowMedia will update the situation when more information is available.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
