Three miners are reportedly trapped under a pile of debris between 20 and 30 metres long and seven to eight metres high at a mine in northern British Columbia.The Red Chris gold and copper mine is located in Talhtan Nation territory near the town of Dease Lake.Speaking at a press conference at the First Ministers Meeting in Ontario on Wednesday, Premier David Eby said two of the miners are from BC, while the third hails from Ontario."There was an accident," Eby explained. "There are three miners that are currently trapped underground. They are, to the best of our knowledge, uninjured and in a refuge area."He noted that the company, Newmont Corp., is "working with our world-leading mining rescue teams," adding, "BC miners are the best in the world, our rescue teams are exceptional, and they will be working overtime to bring these workers home safely to their families.""At the time of the initial incident, three business partner employees were working more than 500 meters beyond the affected zone and were asked to relocate to a designated refuge station before a subsequent fall of ground blocked the access way," Newmont wrote in a statement. "Following the first event, contact was established with the individuals and confirmation was received that they had safely relocated to one of multiple self contained refuge bays. The refuge stations are equipped with adequate food, water and ventilation to support an extended stay."They explained that "the second fall of ground event subsequently restricted communication," thus, "to ensure focus on the response efforts, a standdown of operations at Red Chris has been implemented."More to come...
