According to local newspaper the Tumbler Ridge News, 26-year-old Chris Hawley was in a stable condition in the intensive care unit of a regional hospital Monday morning after an incident December 16 at about 5am.

The worker was reversing a Caterpillar 785 haul truck at the operation in an attempt to dump waste material when the 250-tonne vehicle went over a berm and down a steep 50-metre embankment.

Hawley received a broken shoulder, three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a possible broken back, though Western Coal representative Graham Foyle-Twining reportedly told the newspaper that the serious injuries were not life-threatening.

Investigations by both the company and Canada’s newly formed Ministry of Natural Resource Operations have commenced.