A 44-year-old city worker died at an underground sewer line construction project Tuesday afternoon in southwest Edmonton.
Police say emergency crews were called to respond to an incident inside a tunnel at the city drainage project near the corner Ellerslie Road and 142nd Street.
Investigators say man was declared dead at the scene. Police confirm the worker died underground.
The investigation has been handed over to Occupational Health Safety officers, who remained on site late into the evening and will be returning to the scene Wednesday morning.
“The investigation will focus on the procedures used and the safety precautions taken,” said OHS spokesperson Andrew Hanon. “All of those aspects.”
Early Wednesday morning, the construction site remained gated shut and shielded from view with a large green tarpaulin, surrounded by ‘danger’ and ‘keep out’ signs.
A large, three-metre wide sanitary sewer tunnel more than 30 metres below ground is under construction in the area.
The SW4 Sanitary sewer project involves construction of large shaft with a tunnel boring machine to expanding an existing tunnel north of Ellerslie Road and west of Whitemud Creek.
Once completed, the two-kilometre pipe will transport waste water from the Windermere, Heritage Valley, and Riverview areas, providing extra flow and storage capacity for neighbourhoods in the area.
During a Wednesday morning meeting in council chambers, city officials said all tunneling operations for the city have been suspended for the time being.