Unifor promises to be ‘actively engaged’ in the investigation
A bus carrying 18 Taseko Mines Limited employees to the Gibraltar copper mine in British Columbia left the road early Friday, sending eight workers and the driver to hospital.
The incident occurred at approximately 7 a.m. this morning, less than one kilometre from the mine gate, when “a bus transporting employees to its Gibraltar copper mine northeast of Williams Lake, B.C. left the road,” the company said in a statement.
Taseko reported that while the vehicle went off the road, it did not roll. “Upon leaving the road, the bus remained upright and came to an abrupt stop,” the company said.
“Given the proximity to the mine site, Gibraltar’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) was first to respond. B.C. Ambulance and RCMP also responded,” according to the company statement.
Taseko has not yet released information on the condition of the injured employees or the cause of the incident.
RCMP and B.C. Emergency Health Services say they were called to the scene shortly after 6:30 a.m. PT, according to a CBC report.
“Our thoughts are with our members, their families, and co-workers at this difficult time,” said Unifor in a statement.
“Unifor will be actively engaged in the investigation into this incident.”
No further information is available as of the writing of this story.
Recently, a contract worker died following an accident at the same mine.
File photo from Taseko Mines' website
