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The owner of a drilling company involved in a fatal gondola crash at a popular resort in Quebec over the weekend is speaking out.
In a statement released on Monday, Forage M2P president Maxime Patry acknowledged that one of its employees was operating a drilling machine at Station Mont Tremblant on Sunday when the mast of the machine hit a moving gondola carrying two passengers.
Both passengers, a man and a woman, were ejected from the gondola and taken to hospital in critical condition.
The man, identified by police as Sheldon Johnson, 50, from Kingston, Ont., died of his injuries in hospital on Sunday.
As of Tuesday morning, the woman passenger, also from Ontario, remained in critical condition.
Patry, whose company normally acts as a subcontractor at Mont-Tremblant, extended his condolences to the loved ones of those involved.
Since the tragic incident, questions have swirled regarding how and why the heavy machinery was operating in close proximity to a moving gondola.
Patry for his part maintains the employee was moving along a path designated by the owner of Mont-Tremblant.
The statement refers to the tragic crash as an “isolated incident,” which at first sight may have been caused by a human or communication error or a mechanical failure.
Patry, however, warned against jumping to conclusions.
“It would be clearly premature, even reckless, to put forward any hypothesis whatsoever to explain this accident,” Patry said.
Quebec provincial police remained on site on Tuesday.
They have yet to meet with the drill operator involved in the incident, who was hospitalized after going into shock in the aftermath of the collision.
Forage M2P says it is offering psychological support to any employee who needs it.
Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said witness interviews were ongoing on Tuesday and that an expert analysis of the drilling machine has yet to be carried out.
Quebec’s building authority, the Régie du Bâtiment, and the health and safety board (CNESST) are also looking into the incident.
The gondola ride remains closed until further notice.
Mont-Tremblant is located roughly 130 kilometres northwest of Montreal in the Laurentian Mountains.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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