The death of a Canadian BMX riding champion in a workplace accident at a Vancouver Island fish farm has prompted recommendations for safety training improvements.
A BC Coroners Service report, which was released on January 20, 2021, classifies the death of 18-year-old deckhand Aidan Webber in March 2019 as accidental, which resulted in crushing trauma from being pinned between a metal stanchion and a barge.
The incident occurred at an open ocean farm in waters northeast of Port Hardy.
Following the horrific event, emergency services took Webber to Port Hardy for treatment — a distance of about 25 km — but he died from his injuries en route.
Webber, who was from Nanaimo, won Canada’s BMX championship in the junior men division back in 2018 and represented Canada at the world championships in 2016 in Colombia.
“Aidan, was an amazing son, brother, rider and friend to many. He has been a constant figure racing around Nanaimo’s track and tracks all around the world. His friends come from far and wide. Aidan will be missed by all,” read a Facebook post from Nanaimo BMX back in March 2019.
After further investigation, the coroner’s report — released on Wednesday — says the accident occurred when Webber was attempting to secure the barge to a walkway at the fish farm.
The report indicates that Webber had jumped off the boat as it approached one of the pens, landing on the walkway to tie it up.
BC Coroners Service found that Webber began tying the boat with his back turned to the boat, out of his colleagues’ lines of sight.
The boat approached the walkway with momentum and it rose up, pinning Webber in the process between a stanchion and the boat’s hull.
According to the BC Coroners Service, the report says an investigation found the teen wasn’t properly trained to safely do his job. It states that the employer — Sea Roamer Marine Services of Courtenay — violated four areas of the Workers Compensation Act and occupational health and safety regulations.
“The training that had been provided to Mr. Webber was informal in nature and did not provide specific guidelines for docking safely, including instructing deckhands to await instruction before moving off a vessel onto a mooring location,” the report said.
As a result of the findings, the BC Coroners Service is calling on the employer to develop and implement a formal training program for its employees.
Coroner Andrew Washbrook’s report also recommends the employer, who was not immediately available for comment, keep a detailed record of all training and orientation programs provided to workers.
Sea Roamer has not yet released a statement regarding Wednesday’s report.
With files to the Canadian Press.
Graham Cox
