OTTAWA
Identification of Eastway Tank explosion victims could take weeks, coroner saysBlair Crawford
The remains of a fifth victim have been found in the rubble left after last Thursday’s explosion and fire at Eastway Tank Pump & Meter Ltd., the coroner’s office has confirmed.
© Provided by Ottawa Citizen Six people are believed to have died in a fire and explosion at Eastway Tank on Merivale Road in Ottawa last week.
“The Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC) and the Ontario Fire Marshal, assisted by the Ottawa Police, are beginning the work to recover the human remains of some of the deceased that have been located at scene,” coroner spokeswoman Stephanie Rea said in an email Tuesday. “Once the human remains have been recovered, the next step will be for the OCC in conjunction with the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, to identify those remains. The forensic identification process may take days, if not weeks.”
The names of the victims have not been officially released, but all six casualties have been identified on social media.
Matthew Kearney, 36, a service supervisor and calibration technician at Eastway, died in hospital early Friday from injuries he suffered in the blast. Five others remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead. They are: plant manager Russell McLellan, 43; Rick Bastien, 57, a mechanic and welder from Luskville, Que.; electrician Etienne Mabiala, 59, a husband and father who moved to Canada from the Republic of Congo; welder and Algonquin College graduate Kayla Ferguson, 26, of Carleton Place; and electrician Danny Beale, 29, of Ottawa.
The explosion and fire is believed is the deadliest workplace accident in Ottawa since nine workers were killed in the 1966 collapse of the Heron Road Bridge.
The complex investigation to determining just how and why the tragedy occurred has been hampered by unsafe conditions at the scene, freezing temperatures and Monday’s winter blizzard. In addition to the main investigation by Ottawa police, the coroner’s office and the fire marshal, parallel probes are being done by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority.
“The Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC) and the Ontario Fire Marshal, assisted by the Ottawa Police, are beginning the work to recover the human remains of some of the deceased that have been located at scene,” coroner spokeswoman Stephanie Rea said in an email Tuesday. “Once the human remains have been recovered, the next step will be for the OCC in conjunction with the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, to identify those remains. The forensic identification process may take days, if not weeks.”
The names of the victims have not been officially released, but all six casualties have been identified on social media.
Matthew Kearney, 36, a service supervisor and calibration technician at Eastway, died in hospital early Friday from injuries he suffered in the blast. Five others remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead. They are: plant manager Russell McLellan, 43; Rick Bastien, 57, a mechanic and welder from Luskville, Que.; electrician Etienne Mabiala, 59, a husband and father who moved to Canada from the Republic of Congo; welder and Algonquin College graduate Kayla Ferguson, 26, of Carleton Place; and electrician Danny Beale, 29, of Ottawa.
The explosion and fire is believed is the deadliest workplace accident in Ottawa since nine workers were killed in the 1966 collapse of the Heron Road Bridge.
The complex investigation to determining just how and why the tragedy occurred has been hampered by unsafe conditions at the scene, freezing temperatures and Monday’s winter blizzard. In addition to the main investigation by Ottawa police, the coroner’s office and the fire marshal, parallel probes are being done by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority.
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