Canadian Teen Buried Under Hot Asphalt

A MANITOBA TEENAGER WAS BURIED UNDER A LOAD OF HOT ASPHALT Friday when an excessive amount of the truckload poured out unexpectedly.

The 15-yr.-old boy was working a summer job for Interlake Asphalt Paving in Stony Mountain. They were working on a parking lot job in the Winnipeg suburb and using a vacant lot owned by Manitoba Hydro (the utility company) to store the asphalt while they removed small loads as they needed them.

The asphalt is typically kept at 165º C. (330º F.) to stay liquified until it is used. The boy was using a shovel to help guide the molten asphalt onto the pile when a large chunk that was stuck to the wall of the 30′ dump trailer broke loose and buried him.

Free Press image

Richard Hill, a neighbor, heard the boy screaming and ran over to the site. The Winnipeg Free Press quotes him:

“I heard screaming ‘Help, help.’ I ran through the backyard and saw one guy running with a shovel saying ‘he’s buried.’ I looked around for a shovel and ran over and began shovelling,” he described.

“We got down to his hair… there was just no movement. No movement at all.

“It was so hot my boots were burning because of the asphalt and I burned my hand. It’s burning a bit, but it’s nothing major.”

Stony Mountain/Rockwood fire chief Wallace Drysdale said emergency crews arrived at the scene minutes after being notified of the accident, at around 10:55 a.m.

“There was a young man buried completely up to his hair in hot asphalt,” he said. Some tried to dig by hand too, so they were burning their hands trying to do it.”

CTV photo

Drysdale said crews knew the victim was dead immediately after arriving, and had to dig to extricate his body. “In a case like this, when you’re buried that deep, whether it’s asphalt or not, you’re usually deceased,” he said, adding it’s impossible to breathe with so much pressure. “Our (fire department) members knew this person, ’cause it’s a small town,” he said. “It’s very hard.

“I was one of the first members on scene and we just saw the hair sticking out of this individual. It was extremely hot asphalt. Our crews, when we were digging out, had to shuttle different members in and out in about four- or five-minute intervals because our feet were burning.”

Interlake has two more problems to contend with now. Under Manitoba labor laws, construction workers have to be at least age 16 to work on the job. Also, Interlake did not have Hydro’s permission to store the asphalt on their property.

The Winnipeg Free Press has a brief video report:

Share and Enjoy: