REGINA — A 39-year-old Estevan man is dead following a workplace accident involving an oil service rig on Monday.
Emergencycrews were called to the accident scene, about four kilometresnorthwest of Kisbey, at about 2:30 p.m. when the rig collapsed.
CarlyleRCMP St. Sgt. Phil Harrison said initial investigation revealed the man— who is believed to have been acting as rig manager — was in thecrow's nest of the rig when it suddenly toppled over. Four otherworkers on site were able to escape injury.
Police have not yet released the name of the man killed.
The incident is being investigated by Carlyle RCMP and Occupational Health and Safety.
Oilservice rigs are used, among other things, to fix and service wells.The portable rigs are transported by truck, and in this case had beenused to pull casings from the oil well. This man's job would have beento guide the pipes, Harrison said.
"They'd pulled all the casingsout in this instance and had it all neatly stacked," Harrison said."For whatever reason — which is why Occupational Health and Safety areout there, is trying to determine why the rig decided to fall on itsside."
The 39-year-old suffered severe injuries and Harrison saidthe injured man's co-workers got him to the roadway where an ambulancewould be able to reach him.
"He was pronounced dead when he arrived at Weyburn Hospital," Harrison said.
On Tuesday, PetroBakken Energy released a statement extending its sympathies to the family of the man killed.
"Weare deeply saddened by this tragic loss of life and our hearts go outto the family," company president Gregg Smith said. "We areco-operating fully with the official investigators."
PetroBakkenshut down operations at the well following the accident as part of itscrisis response plan, which also includes securing the location andproviding lights for first responders and investigators.
Therelease said the company can't share more details until theinvestigation is complete, but said "the cause of the incident isunknown."
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