British Columbia

Mysterious explosion near Prince George traced to quarry by RCMP

The source of a loud noise that rocked residents in Prince George Monday night has been tracked down by the RCMP.

Member of crew doing the blast says work was meant to be finished earlier in the day, but there were delays

Prince George RCMP have determined that the source of a reported explosion on the evening of Feb. 27 was a controlled blast in a nearby quarry. (Sara Minogue/CBC)

The source of a loud noise that rocked residents in Prince George Monday night has been determined to have been a controlled blast in a quarry in the area.

Around 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 Prince George RCMP received reports of a possible explosion near the North Nechako area, although no one was able to specify a location.

In a release, Cpl. Craig Douglass said police searched the area for 90 minutes but could not find anything "unusual or suspicious."

Prince George RCMP ended their investigation when they later confirmed that the explosion was a controlled quarry blast near Otway Road.

Darryl Crichton, whose crew was doing the blast work, told CBC News they were scheduled to finish the work earlier in the day but experienced delays.

"Once you start a blast pattern you cannot leave it unattended, you have to complete it. So sometimes it takes a little bit longer to do."

With files from Wil Fundal