VANCOUVER , British Columbia — Four people were killed at a mine being decommissioned in the western Canadian province of British Columbia, and one of the victims may have gone undiscovered for two days, officials said Wednesday.
The dead included two ambulance paramedics who had been called to treat a worker who had been found unconscious at Teck Cominco's Ltd. Sullivan lead and zinc mine near the community of Kimberley, police said.
"It's a horror what happened today... This is a tough day for the region," said British Columbia Minister of State for Mines Bill Bennett before he headed to the scene with other provincial officials.
Police said the incident apparently began two days ago when a worker went to check water quality at an above-ground pumping station at the mine site. A co-worker discovered the man's body Wednesday and called for medical help.
Witnesses told police that the second worker and two paramedics went to the man's body without wearing gas masks, and were also overcome. The three victims were removed by firemen who were wearing protective gear, but they died in hospital.
Kimberley area media said the victims may have been overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas, a highly toxic and explosive gas that is slightly heavier than air and tends to concentrate at the bottom of poorly ventilated areas.
The coroner's office declared the site of the accident unsafe, and police were keeping people away from the area until an inspection was completed.
"Emergency response personnel have secured the site and an investigation is under way," Vancouver -based Teck Cominco said in a statement.
The underground mine in the Purcell Mountains of southeastern British Columbia was closed in December 2001 after 92 years of operation and was being decommissioned by the company.
"There would be environmental types of activities taking place at the mine site," Bennett said.
Police said the dead workers were both employed by firms contracted by Teck to work at the mine, but the names of the victims were not released until family members could be located.
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