Sudbury mining inquest hears from worker who was near fatal incident

A coroner's jury in Sudbury has heard from a miner who described the run of muck that killed two men as "like nothing he had heard before".

Miners JordanFramand JasonChenier were killed in Ore Pass No.7 in Vale'sStobie Mine onJune 8, 2011.

RichardProulxsaid during the fourth day of the inquesthe was examining the scoop on his scoop tram in a drift not far from the ore passwhen the run happened.

Proulxsays his ears popped.He saw the flexible ventilation tube collapse and re-inflate three times with the massive rush of air.

His supervisor, Luke St.Amant, descended andstopped at the entrance to the ore pass where he saw mudfilling the opening.

The muck spilled out around the wheels ofChenier'sJeep andFram'sscoop tram.There was no sign of the two men.

Digging with his hands

St.Amantsays he started to dig at the mix of sand, ore, blasted rock and water with his hands.Making no progress, he and another miner jumped on the scoop tram and started digging.

They recoveredChenier'sbody, then rescue workers took over and recoveredFram'sremains.

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The jury has also heard from explosives expert David Osinski,who described blasting blockages that had been causing problems before the fatal incident.

Osinski had successfully removed a clog in an ore pass the same day as the accident, he said.

Chenier later told Osinskihe would blast in the same area. Not much later, Chenierand Fram were dead.

Theinquest, which is expected to last 10 days,is mandatory under the Coroners Act because there weremining deaths.

The jury may make recommendationsaimed at preventing similar deaths fromoccurring.