‘Goosebumps’ and euphoria after workers trapped in B.C. mine were freed

By Canadian Press on July 25, 2025.

ISKUT — The employer of three workers who were trapped underground in a northern British Columbia mine says there was a “euphoric” response to their overnight rescue.

Hy-Tech Drilling’s Dwayne Ross says it was a “great positive outcome” and the men will soon be back in Smithers, B.C., where Hy-Tech is based.

The three men — Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty — were brought to the surface around 10:40 p.m. Thursday.

Bernard Wessels, the global safety chief for the mine’s operator Newmont Corp., says there were “goosebumps and happiness” when the contractors emerged to safety at the Red Chris mine.

Wessels says the men, who were trapped for more than 60 hours in a steel refuge, 284 metres below the surface, “held hope and strength through their every moment” and will be reunited with their families today.

The men had been trapped by two “falls of ground” that blocked an access tunnel, before the operation involving drones, a remote-controlled scoop and a protected rescue vehicle got them out.

— By Brenna Owen and Ashley Joannou in Vancouver

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.

The Canadian Press