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Two people are dead after a blast on an oil and gas development in northern Alberta.
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Alberta’s ministry of jobs, economy and northern development on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of two workers “following an explosion” at a job site near Slave Lake Saturday afternoon.
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The information was provided in response to inquiries from Postmedia and was not proactively disclosed. Occupational Health & Safety spokesman Trent Bancarz declined to identify the employer or the owner of the site, citing the “active investigation.”
Tamarack Valley Energy president and CEO Brian Schmidt, however, said the victims were contractors working on the company’s Marten Hills site. One was a welder, though he did not know the other’s trade.
“We’re deeply saddened (that) two individuals lost their lives,” Schmidt said. “I think we all feel for the families and what they’re going through right now.”
Schmidt said Tamarack recently acquired the site, which is primarily oil extraction, from fellow Calgary company Deltastream Energy Corp. Marten Hills has since been shut down pending the OH&S investigation and a company probe of the incident.
Schmidt confirmed there was an explosion on the site but said he could not say what exploded or the cause.
He said Tamarack otherwise has an “excellent” safety record. “It’s very difficult for everybody.”
Slave Lake is about 250 km north of Edmonton.
jwakefield@postmedia.com
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