Bombardier Research and Development Complex Explodes in Canada, One Employee Dies
OutdoorHub Reporters 11.13.12
Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) is still investigating what caused an explosion at its research and development complex in Valcourt, Quebec last Friday which left one employee dead and another in a hospital’s intensive care burn unit.
The Valcourt plant is located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Montreal. Sebastian Tardif, 38, a dynamometer operator, died in the hospital following the blast. He was a father of two. In a statement, BRP said its thoughts are with Tardif’s family and friends and it has established a telephone hotline to give employees and family members information and support.
Another employee, a security guard whose identity has not been revealed, was also injured in the blast. He remains in a medically-induced coma in intensive care in the burn unit of Enfant-Jesus hospital in Quebec City.
Local police heard the explosion, which occurred shortly after midnight on November 9. They said they witnessed a ball of fire shoot up into the sky and then observed two men running from the building. Firefighters quickly got the fire under control, but the research and development center will remain closed throughout the investigation process. The explosion did not affect manufacturing operations.
Within a 24-hour time span, another plant exploded in Valcourt, Quebec which killed three people and sent 19 to the hospital, according to The Canadian Press. Nepture Technologies and Bioressources, the company that owns the production plant of health products from marine life in Quebec’s Eastern Thonships, also has an investigation pending into the cause of the explosion that could be heard for a few kilometers.
