WorkSafeNB is investigating after a person died Thursday at a construction site for a turbine project east of Sussex.
A subcontractor working on the Neweg Energy Project, 29 kilometres east of Sussex, died following an incident on July 18, according to Amy Pellerin of Natural Forces, a Halifax-based private power company. Construction work on the six-turbine project was halted immediately and reopened Monday following approval from WorkSafeNB, Pellerin said Monday.
“Neweg Energy Limited Partnership was made aware of the terrible incident after the emergency services were contacted and we offer our most sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the individual who has passed,” Pellerin, the company’s director of Canadian development, wrote in a statement.
WorkSafeNB communications manager Lynn Meahan-Carson confirmed they are investigating a workplace fatality in the Sussex area, saying a worker “was fatally injured while working around heavy equipment.” She declined to share further details, including age or residency of the worker, citing the active investigation.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the family,” Meahan-Carson wrote in an email Monday.
Sussex RCMP Sgt. Kevin Glode said RCMP responded to the fatality around 11 a.m. Tuesday, with Ambulance New Brunswick and the Penobsquis Fire Department also responding. He said that it was determined that there was no “criminality component” and the investigation is with WorkSafeNB. He declined to disclose the individual’s age or residency, citing the lack of a criminal component.
Pellerin said that Transport Canada is also on site investigating, as they investigate incidents involving vehicles. Transport Canada spokesperson Hicham Ayoun said their team was not contacted by either the RCMP or WorkSafeNB, saying that Transport Canada does not have jurisdiction over road vehicles but could provide assistance if asked.
The Neweg Energy Project, located east of Springdale and south of Portage Vale, is owned by Natural Forces and the Mi’gmaq United Investment Network, with construction starting in April this year, according to their web-site. It is the second phase of the Wocawson Energy Project, an adjacent five-turbine project owned by Natural Forces and the Tobique First Nation, which opened in 2020.
By Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
