Boy dies after being struck by front-end loader on ranch

A boy has died after being hit by a front-end loader on a ranch in southern Alberta.

RCMP say a man was operating the payloader Tuesday evening in the ranch yard when the brakes and steering failed.

The machine struck an 11-yearold boy, who later died in hospital.

A 17-year-old was also struck by the machine but was not seriously hurt.

A Facebook post from Bow Island Minor Hockey identified the 11-year-old as Kale Porteous.

“(Tuesday’s) tragic accident leaves our hockey family broken and without one of our members, but we stand behind the entire Porteous/Laidlaw family in support while they grieve, and we all grieve,” said the post.

“Kale is up in heaven playing on the starting line up, scoring goals like he always does and flashing us his infectious smile that we all knew and loved him for.”

The mayor of the Town of Bow Island, Gordon Reynolds, also took to social media Wednesday, tweeting his shock and grief at the loss to their community and offered condolences to the Porteous and Laidlaw families.

The Town of Bow Island has set aside its community room for grief counselling.

According to the Alberta Farm Safety Centre, agriculture ranks as Canada’s third most hazardous industry, with agricultural machines involved in 70.9 per cent of fatalities.

For children aged 14 and under, machine rollovers accounted for 41.9 per cent of farm-related fatalities.

Between 1997 and 2014, there were 306 farm-related fatalities, with children accounting for 19 per cent.

Mounties and Alberta Occupational Health and Safety officers are continuing to investigate the incident.