Oilsands worker in coma after skull fractured in accident
By Ben Gelinas, edmontonjournal.com
March 29, 2009
EDMONTON — A 19-year-old contractor for Devon Energy is in an induced coma after he was hit in the head with a 2X4 on a construction site about 30 kilometres southeast of Conklin at the company's Jackfish 2 oilsands site.
The man was operating a small ride-on packer, levelling a tank base under construction around 9 a.m. Saturday, when his machine caught a rope used to secure a wooden light-tower nearby.
The rope was released and snapped back, breaking off a piece of lumber from the light tower and driving it into the contractor's head, Occupational Health and Safety said. Though he was wearing a hardhat, his skull was fractured and he required surgery. The contractor was driven to Lac La Biche, then airlifted to the University Hospital.
The site is approximately 180 kilometres south of Fort McMurray.
bgelinas@thejournal.canwest.com
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