A coroner’s investigation is underway into a work-related accident Monday at the BC Hydro Mayook substation east of Cranbrook that resulted in the death of a worker at the site.

Dead is Brandon William Beday, 33, of Lumby, B.C.

Cranbrook RCMP and the BC Ambulance Service rushed to the site about 20 km east of Cranbrook around 5:30 p.m. Aug. 16 after receiving a call that a worker had been injured.

On arrival, they met another worker who was administering CPR to an unresponsive, adult, male victim. The injured worker was transferred to the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of this employee,” said BC Hydro Community Relations Manager Diane Tammen. “He passed away despite the best efforts of our local crew to revive him.”

Tammen said the deceased worked as an electrician with BC Hydro out of the utility’s construction services operation in Vernon. “This is a great loss for us and is being felt all through BC Hydro.”

The cause of death has not been confirmed and few other details are being released at this time, Tammen said. The B.C. Coroner’s Service will be doing an investigation into the accident and a separate investigation will be carried out by Work Safe B.C.

“As we progress through the investigations, we expect more information will come available,” Tammen said. “At this time, all we want to do is offer our sincere condolences to the worker’s family and friends and to his co-workers.

BC Hydro had a grief counsellor in Cranbrook Tuesday for the victim’s co-workers. Ongoing support from BC Hydro’s employee assistance program is also available, Tammen said.

Meanwhile BC Hydro CEO Dave Cobb also expressed condolences for the employee’s death. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones and this loss will be felt by all of us at BC Hydro and in the communities where Brandon lived and served.”

Cobb said Beday worked for BC Hydro for approximately seven years and lived in Lumby in the North Okanagan and worked at various locations in the Southern Interior.

“Understandably our focus is on fully supporting Brandon’s loved ones and colleagues and on investigating the fatality and we won’t speculate on the cause. We are cooperating fully with the RCMP, WorkSafe BC and the Coroners Service of British Columbia as they conduct their investigations. We will communicate further as information becomes available.”

The fatality is the third BC Hydro has experienced in Cranbrook in the past three years. In May of 2008, a helicopter on contract with BC Hydro crashed at the intersection of 14th Avenue and 10th Street killing two Hydro line inspectors aboard, a pedestrian on the street and the pilot.