Foreign worker killed by farm machinery

A foreign worker died in an accident involving farm machinery at Norloo farm site, Morrissey on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old man lost his life at the Norlou farm site on route 352 in Saint-Luc-de-Vincennes, Maurice.

Authorities were alerted by bystanders around 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to the explanations of the Sûreté du Québec, he got stuck in a piece of machinery, namely an animal feed mixer, in which the bottom is improperly called an endless screw, i.e. a cylinder with a helical spline. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Colleagues who realized that a worker was missing went to look at his work area, where the machines were, and that’s when they discovered it,” explained Éloise Cossette, spokeswoman for the Sûreté du Québec.

For Daniel Houle, the mayor of the municipality, who is also a farmer, this is a real tragedy.

As far as he knew, the employee had already worked at Norloo for four or five years.

“It’s a tragedy for the community, especially all the colleagues who work at Norloo Farm because it’s such a tight-knit working family,” he said.

The mayor assured that the foreign worker who found his colleague in the machine is entitled to psychological support provided by the Foreign Worker Placement Agency.

A forensic identification technician was dispatched to the scene of the accident, as were the Commission for Health and Equity Standards at Work (CNESST) and a coroner to gather information.

An investigation has been initiated to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. “We are looking at the working methods and the equipment used during the event, so that is where we are. Two inspectors spent the day at the site,” said CNESST spokeswoman Audreane Lafrenière.

This is the second accident in the area in three days. For the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA), this is a reminder that it is not immune to an accident.

Mr. Lafrenière is taking the opportunity to remind businesses across all sectors to ensure their workplaces are safe.

“What we need to remember from this incident is to always remember the safety rules so that no unfortunate incidents happen,” said Mr. Hull replied.

The owners of the farm, which briefly approached the edge of their property, did not want to comment on the accident. According to the Sûreté du Québec, this can only be a bad move by the employee, as there are no suspicious elements connected to this tragedy.