Charges laid in 2022 death of construction worker who became trapped underground in Mississauga

Peel police have charged an Ontario tunnelling company and one of its employees in connection with the death of a 54-year-old man who became trapped in an underground tunnel in Mississauga more than a year ago.

On Dec. 2, 2022, emergency crews were called to the area of Hurontario Street and Burnhamthorpe Road West shortly after 3:30 p.m. for reports of one worker being trapped in an underground water chamber.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour previously told CP24 that work was being done in a watermain when it burst and filled the chamber. Efforts to rescue the worker commenced, but he wasn’t pulled out until the following morning and was pronounced dead.

Police said the worker, identified as Joaquim Silva, suffered fatal injuries while servicing a damaged pipeline. Silva was employed by Technicore Underground Inc.

Following a lengthy police investigation conducted in parallel with the Ministry of Labour, they announced that Technicore was charged with criminal negligence causing death and served with a criminal summons earlier this week.

In addition, Joseph Di Millo, a Technicore project supervisor, was arrested on Mar. 28 and charged with criminal negligence causing death.

He was released and will attend a Brampton court at a later date, while Technicore is required to appear in court on May 31.

Police continue to ask anyone with information about the incident to contact them at 905-453-2121 ext. 1133 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or peelcrimestoppers.ca.