A Suncor employee was killed by a black bear in northern Alberta, the company confirmed on Wednesday.
The attack took place at the company’s Oil Sands base, 15 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
The female worker was pronounced dead at the scene.
The RCMP were called just after 2 p.m. on Wednesday after receiving reports that a large black bear was attacking a worker at the Suncor base camp.
When the RCMP arrived, they shot and killed the male bear.
The investigation has now been turned over to the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development.
“This is an absolutely tragic event. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families,” Suncor spokesperson Sneh Seetal told CTV Edmonton.
Barrie Harrison, with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, said companies are required to have procedures in place to assess and handle any possible hazards.
“Part of the job we’ll be doing and working with Suncor (to) determine what sort of procedures are in place and whether there was anything possibly that could have been done to avoid this from happening,” Harrison said.
Suncor Executive Vice-President Mark Little said, “There are no words to express the tragedy of this situation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to family, friends and co-workers.”
