Woman dies after bear attack at Suncor oilsands site
Posted May 7, 2014 9:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A female employee at the Suncor plant north of Fort McMurray has died in a bear attack.
The mauling occurred around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and Occupational Health and Safety spokesman Barrie Harrison said the animal was a male black bear.
The woman died of her injuries on scene and Harrison said the investigation is only beginning.
He said, “RCMP, as is generally the case, was first on the site; the bear has since been put down. Fish and Wildlife is on the scene conducting their investigation and Occupational Health and Safety is now on scene as well.”
Harrison adds it’s the first bear attack he’s heard of being investigated in his time with the organization.
Suncor has released a statement saying they are shocked by this very unusual incident and thoughts and prayers are going out to her family, friends and co-workers.
Ferne Wynnyk is the morning anchor with Rock 97.9 in Fort McMurray. She said the entire community is in shock.
“It’s unusual, there’s no words really that explains what’s going in our community and I think it’s going to change the way people think while they’re on site that’s for sure.”
Wynnyk tells 660News while attacks are rare, wildlife sightings are common.
“Animals are attracted to the food,” she said. “You’ll hear it a lot from workers on site, oh I saw a black bear today or oh I saw a coyote, animals are definitely not that unusual.”
