Worker hurt at potash mine on life support, family asks for blood donations

VANSCOY, Sask. – A worker who was seriously injured at a potash mine in Saskatchewan is still fighting for his life in hospital, and his union is pleading with the public to donate blood on his behalf.

Operations at the Agrium mine near Vanscoy, Sask., were suspended earlier this week after the accident, in which the man became pinned between two pieces of machinery.

Speaking on behalf of the man’s family, Darrin Kruger of the United Steelworkers Union local said they have been by his bedside since the accident.

Kruger said the worker is in critical condition and is on life support.

He said his injuries are such that he has used “upwards of 400 units of blood.”

The family has been overwhelmed with people asking how they can help and Kruger said they are asking people to give blood as a way of paying forward the donations that have kept him alive.

“He’s a young man with a young family with a bright future in front of him,” said Kruger. “He’s somebody that’s a strong character, a jokester. People immediately gravitate towards him.”

(CKOM)