Provincial authorities in Alberta said Thursday they are investigating last week’s death of a worker at Suncor Energy’s (SU) Fort Hills oil sands site near Fort McMurray, the company’s first on-site fatality since a former CEO stepped down in 2022 following a series of deadly incidents.
Suncor (SU) said the worker was operating a piece of heavy equipment on January 13 when it sank into the muskeg, a type of watery bog; the person has still not been found, and the company said the incident may have resulted from a medical event.
The fatality marks the first at a Suncor (SU) site since 2022, when a spate of incidents prompted calls for a major shakeup of the company, with activist Elliott Investment Management leading the campaign that resulted in then-CEO Mark Little stepping down; he was replaced by former Imperial Oil head Rich Kruger, who remains in charge at Suncor.