Natural air flowing to three trapped miners in B.C., firm confident of rescue

By Canadian Press on July 24, 2025.

The safety chief for the operator of a British Columbia mine where three workers are trapped underground says natural air is flowing to them.

Bernard Wessels, global safety head for Newmont Corp., would not say how long he expects the rescue to take, but “from a timing perspective” the company is confident.

Wessels says the company “will not rest” until the workers are brought home safely.

The three have been trapped underground at the Red Chris mine in northern B.C. since Tuesday morning, when two rockfalls cut them off.

Wessels says the contractors for Hy-Tech Drilling confirmed by radio that they had made their way to a steel refuge chamber after the first fall, before the second collapse severed communications.

Wessels says drones have flown over the debris, measuring 20 to 30 metres long by seven to eight metres high, and confirmed that “the rest of the area is safe”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24. 2025.

Brenna Owen and Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press