Jury rules Sullivan mine deaths accidental

A coroner's jury at an inquest in Kimberley, British Columbia, in mid-July decided that the four deaths at Teck Cominco's decommissioned Sullivan mine last year were accidental. Two workers and two paramedics died when they entered an airless water-sampling shed on the site. The paramedics weren't prepared for entering a mine building because they thought they were dealing with a drowning, the inquest found.

The jury handed down 16 recommendations to revamp mine safety rules. It recommended that the British Columbia Mines Ministry should review the effectiveness of its enforcement strategy for safety regulations; that a minimum number of inspections per mine each year should be established, with increased penalties for violations; and that within the next six months, all mines in the province should post signs on all confined spaces at their sites.

Teck Cominco will be closely reviewing the jury's recommendations to further increase its understanding of the causes of the incident, the company said in a release July 13. "Our objective has been to ensure the unprecedented and unforeseen events of May 2006 never happen again," said President and CEO Don Lindsay. "We are committed to identifying and managing hazards and risks at Kimberley and all of our operations. The jury's recommendations will form part of our ongoing work."