Three bodies recovered in Quebec mining accident

The Montreal Gazette has confirmed the body of Marc Guay, 31, has been recovered bringing to an end the search for three missing Quebec miners.

A day earlier, the bodies of Bruno Goulet, 36 and Dominico Bollini, 44 were also found at the Bachelor Lake gold mine located about 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal. All three miners descended nearly 500 metres below the ground into the Metanor Resources Inc. owned mine when the pocket they were working in unexpectedly flooded. Crews located above ground hoped the miners were able to escape into an emergency exit pocket, but the recovery efforts showed that was not the case. The initial rescue mission was postponed while crews tried to pump out the water to allow them to enter the mine. With the mine now almost fully pumped out, Quebec's Workplace Health and Safety Board, can begin their investigation to decipher what happened. According to Reuters, Metanor Resources Inc. said the circumstances of the accident are currently unknown and they are fully cooperating with authorities during the investigation. There are also reports that Quebec authorities have begun an investigation into the possibility of handing out criminal negligence charges. Pierre Turgeon, a spokesman from the board told the Montreal Gazette investigators will interview an elevator operator and check the equipment and supervision of the workers. The Quebec coroners office is also on scene in investigate the incident. The findings from the board and the coroner will then be made public in about 4 months. Two of the men worked for the Metanor Mining operation while the other was contracted in to assist in aligning shaft walls. All three men descended into the lower levels in the mine aboard a steel cage on Friday morning. An above ground operator noticed the water but by the time he signaled the employees, it was too late. The cage was brought up empty and the door was ajar. The Toronto Stock Exchange is also forecasting more tough times ahead for Metanor Mining Inc. (TSX: MTO) as their shares fell more than 20 per cent on Monday. For a related article, click here.