Two mill workers are still missing after a massive explosion and fire ripped through the Babine Forest Products sawmill east of Burns Lake on Friday night.
The fire, which started at about 8:15 p.m., left 19 people injured, some with major burns.
Late Saturday, volunteer fire crews were still pouring water on the mill, located 220 kilometres west of Prince George, and RCMP North District spokesperson Lesley Smith said it will be at least another day or two before investigators can enter the structure to search for any bodies.
"Two employees are missing and they were last seen at the mill where there was a fire, so it's not looking too good at this time," Smith said. "It's very tragic. I can't imagine what that community is going through right now."
One of the missing men, Carl Charlie, is from the Lake Babine Nation. His parents, Ben and Violet, and brother Ben Jr., gathered Saturday afternoon at the Margaret Patrick Memorial Hall with friends and families of the affected mill workers, where they waited for information.
"I am shocked," Ben Charlie Jr. told Burns Lake District News reporter Rebecca Billard.
"I am glad to hear that other employees made it out okay .... I am praying that we end up with some good news. I am just hanging in there for my folks."
Lake Babine Nation chief Wilf Adam said the other missing man -- Robert Luggi Jr. -- is from the Stellat'en First Nation, but is a resident of the Wet'suwet'en village.
"Robert has been at the mill for a long time," said Adam. "He was working in the basement and Carl, I believe, was working on one of the machines.
"The mill is flat now."
Adam said mill workers reported two small flashes before the big explosion, which he believes was caused by propane.
The Burns Lake volunteer fire department called in fire crews from Smithers and Houston to help fight the blaze. With about 240 employees, the mill was the major employer in the Burns Lake area.
Four mill workers were transported by ambulance on treacherous roads through a snowstorm to Prince George Airport. Two of them were flown to hospital in University Hospital in Edmonton and two were sent separately to Vancouver General Hospital, one arriving early in the morning and other admitted at about 11 a.m.
"They had severe to critical injuries," said Northern Health Authority spokesman Steve Raper.
After initial treatment at Lakes District Hospital in Burns Lake, eight of the victims were driven to University Hospital of Northern B.C. and they arrived in Prince George around 6 a.m. Saturday. One of those victims, whose condition was listed as stable, was later transferred to Vancouver General Hospital. Two mill workers were admitted to Bulkley Valley Hospital in Smithers, while one was sent to St. John Hospital in Vanderhoof.
"Our hearts go out to the families of those employees injured and to the families of the individuals still missing and they are our first priority," said Burns Lake mayor Luke Strimbold.
"We thank all of the emergency workers, including fire ambulance, and those at our hospitals and health care centres in the region who responded quickly to those in need last night."
Northern Health issued a Code Orange alert at 10:52 p.m. Friday to help physicians in Prince George and the Highway 16 corridor as far west as Smithers prepare for mass casualties.
"We were told it was a gas-related explosion," Raper said.
There were about 25 workers on the Friday evening shift at the time of the explosion.
Rayanne Charlie lives near the mill, which is on land leased from the Burns Lake Indian Band.
"As far as we know there are still two unaccounted for and they're both First Nation," she said.
"There's been a lot of people with really serious injuries. It's been a pretty rough night."
Megan Benson, 24, lives about 10 minutes from the mill and said several of her friends were at the mill at the time of the blast.
"Some were able to phone from the hospital, others weren't as lucky," she said.
Benson said alongside worries about the wounded came those about the mill itself, a strong presence in the community of about 10,000. About a quarter of the town is connected to the mill in some fashion, she added.
"People are scared," she said. "That's our livelihood ... that's how we feed our family."
Seven grief counsellors were brought in to help people deal with the fire. The national disaster response team was due to arrive Sunday.
"Kudos to the few people who work in our health system, the few people who are there," said Adam. "We are very short in medical services in Burns Lake and it really showed. It's just the heroics of the employees and some of the concerned members that got us through it.
"We opened the hall 24/7 for people to come in and for workers to be debriefed by counsellors. The citizens of Burns Lake were very generous with food and we have to keep this up until we find some answers."
-- with files from The Canadian Press
