B.C. Premier David Eby has confirmed three miners are trapped underground in a mine in northern B.C.
The miners work at the Red Chris mine on Talhtan Nation territory near Dease Lake, B.C.
Two of the miners are from B.C. and one is from Ontario, the premier said at a news conference at the First Ministers meeting in Ontario Wednesday morning.
“There was an accident,” Eby said. “There are three miners that are currently trapped underground. They are, to the best of our knowledge, uninjured and in a refuge area.”
Eby initially said the incident happened overnight, but the company later confirmed it happened earlier in the day Tuesday.
B.C. Premier David Eby said on Wednesday that there was an accident at the Red Chris mine in northwest B.C., where three miners — two from B.C. and one from Ontario — are trapped underground. Eby added that, to the best of his knowledge, they are not injured. (NOTE: The premier initially said the incident occurred overnight, in fact the incident happened earlier Tuesday.)
Eby said there was “early communication” with the company, Newmont Corp.
“The company is working with our world-leading mining rescue teams. B.C. miners are the best in the world, our rescue teams are exceptional and they will be working overtime to bring these workers home safely to their families,” Eby said.
CBCÂ News has reached out to Newmont Corp., which operates the mine.
The Red Chris mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine that has been operating since 2015.
More to come
