Nanaimo BMX champion dies in workplace accident off coast of Port Hardy

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WATCH: Vancouver Island’s BMX community is mourning the death of a teenage rider who died Sunday in a workplace accident off the coast of Port Hardy. Tess van Straaten has more.

A teenage BMX champion from Nanaimo died in a workplace accident on Sunday, according to Nanaimo BMX.

Aidan Webber died March 10, 2019, in a workplace accident, Nanaimo BMX said. (Nanaimo BMX/Facebook)

Aidan Webber died March 10, 2019, in a workplace accident, Nanaimo BMX said. (Nanaimo BMX/Facebook)

A WorkSafeBC spokeswoman said the agency was notified at 10:40 a.m. on March 10 about an incident that resulted in the death of a young worker.

“Preliminary details indicate it happened about 10 miles off the coast of Port Hardy and involved a fish pen,” Gillian Burnett from WorkSafeBC said in an email.

The incident is being investigated by the BC Coroners Service.

“I can confirm we are in the early stages of our fact-finding investigation involving a male in his late teens to confirm how, where, when and by what means he came to his death,” BC Coroners Service spokesman Andy Watson said in an email.

The BC Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC have not released the teen’s name or any further details about the incident. However, Nanaimo BMX posted on Facebook that the person who died was Aidan Webber, who was in his late teens.

“Yesterday, Nanaimo BMX lost one of our family members. It is with sadness and regret that we say goodbye to Aidan Webber,” Chris Johnson, president of the Nanaimo BMX association, wrote in the post.

“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.”

Yesterday, Nanaimo BMX lost one of our family members. It is with sadness and regret that we say goodbye to Aidan…

Posted by Nanaimo BMX on Monday, March 11, 2019

Nanaimo BMX said the family has asked for time and space while they process the loss and there are no details of a service at this point.

In July 2018, Webber won the junior men’s national championship at Cycling Canada’s BMX national championships in Drummondville, Que. And in 2017, he won the Steve Smith Memorial Award for achievement in extreme sport. He took gold in 16 male at the national championships.

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