Former B.C. NDP leader Carole James is travelling to Burns Lake to be with family and friends after a huge explosion destroyed the village’s largest employer, a sawmill.
James, whose husband is chief of the First Nation there, says the community is in shock.
“The mill, Babine Forest Products, is such a part of the community. Everyone knows someone, who’s either worked there or a family member who works there currently, everybody has a connection to the forest mill, it’s such an integral part of that community.”
Nineteen people were taken to hospital – four with critical injuries – while two others remain missing.
No word yet on what caused the crash, but reports say workers smelled gas before the blast.
Fire and Worksafe BC investigators are on scene.
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