Worker dies at Suncor’s Fort Hills oilsands mine after machinery sinks into muskeg

Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is investigating the death of a worker at an oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray.

The provincial government says the worker was inside a piece of equipment last week when it became submerged in muskeg.

Muskeg is a spongy, waterlogged area of wetlands with deep peat that is common across the northern Alberta landscape.

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Suncor Energy Inc. says the contractor had been operating heavy machinery near a water body at its Fort Hills oilsands site.

As of last week, the person was unaccounted for and recovery efforts were underway.

Neither the company nor OH&S provided an update Thursday on the efforts to retrieve the worker’s remains.

Suncor says the investigation is early and ongoing, but there are indications it may have been the result of a medical event.