‘Shock and heartbreak’: Incident at Prince Rupert carnival leaves worker dead – BC

Multiple investigations are underway following a tragedy at the Prince Rupert Summer Carnival that left an event worker dead on Tuesday night.

RCMP said officers were called to the carnival grounds shortly before 11 p.m., where a man was found unconscious near one of the rides. Despite life-saving efforts, he could not be revived.

Video from the scene showed police focused on the “Zipper” ride.

“It’s shock and heartbreak, you know, a carnival is a happy place, so you just can’t sort of have a greater opposition of two thoughts, right? They’re (designed) to have fun and experience joy and release yourself, and one of the most horrific things you can witness takes place,” said Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond.

“And the community’s mourning also for the young person that was killed. We’re feeling it.”

In a social media post, ride operator Shooting Star Amusements described the victim as a dear close friend, co-worker and a great man.”

The company said it will not be operating on Wednesday or Thursday, the carnival’s final two days.

In a statement, the City of Prince Rupert said it was “saddened” by the death and that Victim Services counselling and support were available at the Civic Centre auditorium on Wednesday.

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“My focus really is on our families, particularly those who witnessed the event take place,” Pond said, adding there were a lot of “young children in line.”

“So the community is reaching out to them to make sure that they understand there’s help available if they need to talk to somebody.”

WorkSafeBC said it was investigating the incident to “identify and understand the occupational health and safety factors that contributed to the incident, so that similar incidents can be prevented in the future.”

The BC Coroners Service is also conducting its own investigation into the death.

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