EDMONTON, Alberta — An employee at a Canadian energy company died after the bulldozer he was operating fell through ice.
Patrick Poitras, 25, crashed through the ice of an inactive tailings pond Wednesday at the Suncor Base Plant in Alberta, CTV reported.
It took the company several days to confirm Poitras had died in the accident because of the difficulty of reaching the partially submerged piece of heavy equipment.
“The worst part about what happened is that it was his last time out,” his uncle Joey St. Amand told CTV. “He was planning on coming back real soon because he had applied for a few jobs here in New Brunswick.”
“It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we can now confirm the death of our co-worker,” the company said in a statement on Saturday. “Our thoughts remain with Patrick’s family, friends and coworkers.”