Three dead after arena ammonia leak in Fernie
An apparent ammonia leak at an arena in Fernie has killed three workers who were repairing the refrigeration plant at the municipal ice rink.
Police, fire, paramedics and WorkSafe BC investigators were on scene at the Fernie Memorial Arena after the leak was reported shortly before noon on Tuesday.
In an email, Trish Knight Chernecki from WorkSafe BC called the incident “a tragic loss of life.”
WorkSafe BC’s preliminary information suggested three workers were exposed to a gas leak.
The agency was contacted by the Fernie Fire Department at 12:30 p.m. and there are now three WorkSafe BC officers on site.
More officers will be at the scene on Wednesday, once Fernie RCMP have completed their investigation.
Homes and businesses nearby were evacuated after the leak was reported, between Ninth and 13th Streets and Highway 3 and Sixth Avenue.
The arena is at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 11th Street.
Highway 3, which runs behind the arena, remained open to traffic, but several streets were closed: Ninth Street and 11th Street from the highway to Sixth Avenue and Sixth Avenue from Ninth to 11th Streets.
Tuesday morning, the city announced that the arena was closed so that emergency repairs could be made to the refrigeration plant.
Ammonia is used as a refrigerant for ice arenas and other large refrigeration systems.
Craig Mohr, coach and general manager of the Fernie Ghostriders junior hockey team, said the team was told early Tuesday that the arena was closed.
As far as he knows it was an unexpected closure.
Barb Anderson, president of the Ghostriders said no one from the team was affected by the leak.
“The arena is city owned and operated. We are one of the user groups,” she said.
SMITHS FALLS, Ont. — Joshua Boyle, a Canadian who was rescued with his family last week by Pakistani troops, said Tuesday that his wife had to be rushed to the hospital and remains there.
Boyle told The Associated Press in an email that his wife, Caitlan Boyle, was admitted Monday. His email did not specify why she was taken to the hospital.
“My first concern has to be the health of my wife and children,” Boyle wrote.
Boyle, his American wife and their three children were rescued Wednesday, five years after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan on a backpacking trip. Four children were born in captivity.
Joshua Boyle said after landing at Toronto’s airport on Friday that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed an infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held.
In prior email exchange with AP, Boyle did not respond to a question about the fourth child but later told the CBC that it was a forced abortion. The Taliban said in a statement it was a miscarriage.
On Monday, Boyle told the AP that he and his wife decided to have children even while held captive because they always planned to have a big family and decided, “Hey, let’s make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family.”
“We’re sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands,” Boyle told AP. “We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn’t want to waste time.”