Three BC mine workers safe after 'meticulously executed' rescue
Red Chris mine operator Newmont Corp. said the three men were safely bought to the surface at about 10:40 p.m. on Thursday.
It said Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty — contractors for BC-based Hy-Tech Drilling — were in good health and spirits after being trapped underground by two rockfalls on Tuesday morning.
"This was a carefully planned and meticulously executed rescue plan," the company said in a statement.
Newmont said that the men had consistent access to food, water, and air in a refuge chamber of the gold and copper mine about 500 kilometres northwest of Terrace, BC.
It described an operation involving drones and a remote-controlled scoop that dug away a massive rockfall, estimated to be 20 to 30 metres long and seven to eight metres high.
"[Our] specialized line-of-sight scoop successfully cleared the fallen debris from the access tunnel. With the area stabilized, the emergency response team advanced across the impacted zone using equipment with an engineered falling object protective system," it said.
Such systems are typically used to enclose vehicles and operators in dangerous environments.
"Upon reaching the refuge chamber, the team found Kevin, Darien, and Jesse in stable condition. Together with the emergency response team, they returned to surface using the same protected equipment."
The company based in Denver, Colo., called the outcome a "result of tireless collaboration, technical expertise, and above all, safety and care."
"We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the rescue teams and all those involved."
It said the workers were being supported by medical and wellness teams and their families had been notified.
BC's Mining and Critical Minerals Minister Jagrup Brar said in a social media post that he "can't describe the relief we all feel knowing that these three workers are going to be able to go home to their families."
The rescue came just a few hours after Newmont's global safety chief, Bernard Wessels, expressed confidence in the rescue.
He said drones had flown over the debris blockage at the mine and found a stable route to the steel safety refuge where the men were sheltering.
"There is natural flow of air through, which is really a positive sign, where the workers are located," Wessels told a virtual press briefing, speaking on Thursday afternoon from the mine site.
The workers were identified by Hy-Tech, saying Coumbs was from Ontario, Maduke from BC and Chubaty from Manitoba. It described Coumbs and Chubaty as drillers and Maduke as a driller's helper.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
6 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Record number of early sockeye recorded in test catch in Johnstone Strait
Early numbers are promising for sockeye salmon headed to the Fraser River through the Johnstone Strait. Alexandra Morton, an independent Island-based biologist who has been keeping a close watch on the salmon run numbers, said that on July 31, 14,550 sockeye were caught on the Johnstone Strait test fishery boat — the highest July daily catch recorded since test fishing began. Morton said her phone has been blowing up with texts from people overjoyed by the news, as well as the run of early Stuart sockeye, which goes up to Takla Lake in northern B.C. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. That run is already in the Fraser River and is currently being counted by the Fisheries Department. DFO has already reached a count of 700,000, above the 160,000 initial estimate that the federal agency gave this year, she said. DFO spokesperson Leri Davies said the agency is unable to attribute increased salmon returns to any single factor at this point, but the large return could not have happened without the combined efforts of First Nations and the provincial and federal governments. The rebound for early Stuart sockeye comes six years after a major landslide in the Fraser River blocked salmon from reaching their spawning grounds, she said in a statement. Commercial and recreational fisheries opportunities may come as more information about the salmon run is collected, she said, adding that First Nation fisheries remain the priority while conservation measures are in place. On Aug. 1, ʼNa̱mǥis fishers were among those who headed out to catch salmon for food, social and ceremonial purposes over a four-day fishery window. Another fishing window for First Nations opened midnight on Wednesday and will close Aug. 9. Na̱mǥis hereditary chief and retired fisher Don Svanvik said ʼNa̱mǥis is allocated a quota of 5,000 sockeye, which means members will likely get around a dozen salmon each if they are able to catch the quota. ʼNa̱mǥis have only been allowed to fish in four of the past 15 years of sockeye salmon runs — in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 — due to a severe drop in returning numbers, Svanvik said. It's gotten to the point where some people think the sockeye only return to the rivers every four years, he said. But this year is shaping up to be a good run, he said. Before the turn of the century, when sockeye was more plentiful, his family would catch 100 to 150 sockeye a year, said Svanvik, adding the fish are nicknamed 'sliders' after the species' tendency to make half-circle jumps out of the water. Right now, everybody on Johnstone Strait is seeing those fins flash across the water, he said. Svanvik and Morton both attribute the rebound of the sockeye run this year, at least in part, to the 2021 closure of Atlantic salmon fish farms off the east coast of Vancouver Island. 'This year and last year [are] the first runs where we're starting to see fish come back that were not exposed to salmon farms when they were juveniles,' said Morton, who has opposed fish farms on the west coast for decades. 'People are wondering, is this part of why the numbers are so huge? Because they're not huge in the Columbia, the Barkley, the Skeena, the other big sockeye rivers.' The salmon returning to the rivers to spawn would have gone out to the Pacific as smolts in 2023, she said. David Knox, Kwakiutl hereditary chief and elected councillor for Kwakiutl First Nation, said there are too many factors to point to a single one causing the rebound for salmon runs going through the Johnstone Strait. Since fish farms began operating in the area 35 years ago, there has been a massive sockeye run in 2015, a major chum salmon run in 2021, and sizable returns of pink salmon, too, he said. Logging and mining in areas where salmon spawn, as well as ocean-floor trawlers, are other major threats to salmon that aren't talked about as much, Knox said. 'I worked on those boats for five years, so that's why I can talk about the impacts — because I witnessed it.' Knox said there's grumbling among Indigenous people who want to fish the sockeye run for economic gain. 'They're suppressing us from being able to gather our resources,' said Knox, who is planning to start a 'pre-Confederation' fishery outside the DFO process that he says his nation has the right to under the 1851 Fort Rupert Douglas treaties. The Pacific Salmon Commission said commercial salmon fishing in Fraser River-area waters remains closed in both Canada and the U.S. The latest commission report estimates that about six in 10 sockeye are shifting their migration route from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Johnstone Strait. Morton said there still is a lot that needs to change before salmon runs aren't threatened anymore, but this year's early results show the salmon remain resilient. 'To see these fish turn on like this is just so hopeful. One day we will be able to have abundant salmon running through these waters again.' mjlo@
CBC
17 hours ago
- CBC
The Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: Totem Poles vs. Northwest Coast Art
In The Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol series' third quarterfinal matchup and after tens of thousands of votes, Totem Poles and Northwest Coast Art are the symbols that remain as the two coastal finalists.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Fallen climbers rescued from B.C.'s Yak Peak while ‘hanging in their harnesses'
A hoist crew rescues two fallen hikers from Yak Peak, a summit located along B.C.'s Coquihalla Highway, on Aug. 6, 2025. (North Shore Rescue) Search crews pulled off a complicated rescue early Wednesday morning, extracting two fallen climbers from B.C.'s Yak Peak after being hampered by clouds and wildfire smoke for hours. The climbers were left 'hanging in their harnesses mid-face' following an accident on the mountain Tuesday, North Shore Rescue said in a social media post. One of the climbers had also suffered a head injury. North Shore Rescue was notified around 10:40 p.m., and worked through the night to bring the pair down safely with members of Hope Search and Rescue, Chilliwack Search and Rescue, Lions Bay Search and Rescue, and Talon Helicopters. A hoist crew managed to locate the climbers using night-vision goggles while circling Yak Peak in a helicopter, but hazy skies prevented them from plucking the pair off the mountain. 'Multiple attempts were made to get overtop of the climbers but unfortunately conditions were too dangerous and the helicopter was forced to land,' reads NSR's post. 'After waiting until weather improved, the flight crew flew up into the area but were again turned around by clouds and rain.' While climbing conditions were dangerous as well, a ground rescue was eventually mobilized – until the weather finally cleared up around 5:30 a.m., allowing for another hoist attempt. A new flight crew had to be assembled as the previous members 'were all timed out from the night before,' North Shore Rescue said. This time, rescuers were finally able to extract the climbers one at a time, beginning with the one who was injured. 'This was a complex task involving night flying, technical pick offs, mountain rescue, and complex hoists. To execute this sort of task safely requires decades of experience and training from every member of the crew,' NSR said. 'We wish the climber a speedy recovery.'
