Miner Killed in Quebec Fire, 44 Saved

Forty-four miners trapped overnight in a copper mine by a fire that killed one miner were all found alive Thursday, mine officials in Quebec province said.

The mine’s owner, Noranda Inc., said the 44 miners made it to underground lunch rooms at various levels of the Gaspe Mine, where they had air and water.

“They are in various lunch rooms where they are supposed to be. It’s great news,” said Noranda spokeswoman Susan Lewis.

In an emergency, miners are instructed to go to the nearest lunch rooms, which are equipped with separate ventilation shafts, telephones, emergency supplies and sealed fire doors.

Rescue crews brought the miners to the surface, where anxious kin had waited for hours seeking word of their loved ones. All 44 of the miners had emerged to safety Thursday night.

Officials of Noranda said the fire broke out Wednesday evening near a conveyor belt and was still burning at noon Thursday in the mine in the Gaspe district of eastern Quebec, about 450 miles east of Quebec City.

Officials said the fire started during a shift change, when more workers than usual were underground. One witness said she heard an explosion about the time the fire began. However, the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

The mine is made up of several parts, including a large open pit. The fire was in the newest section, where a large untapped ore deposit is located.

Officials said 52 miners in all were underground when the blaze started. Some escaped immediately but 27 were trapped in a lunch room 2,600 feet under the surface and 17 were just below the 2,000-foot level.

Another Noranda official, Lionel Gleeton, said miner Ange-Marie Kenney, 36, collapsed as he was trying to make it to safety.

Gleeton said that Kenney and his brother, Jean-Paul Kenney, were trying to reach a lunch room when they got caught in the thick smoke.

“They were both a good thousand feet from the cafeteria when they got caught in the smoke and (Ange-Marie) Kenney collapsed,” Gleeton said. “Kenney’s brother (Jean-Paul) was strong enough to make it, but he wasn’t.”

Rescuers found the body of Kenney, a father of two children, in a corridor. His body was near his brother, who was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

Kenney’s wife, Madonne Gagnon, said her husband was a driller who was never afraid of working underground despite being involved in two previous accidents in the same mine.

“He loved to work. He always loved his work,” she said.