McLENNAN, ALTA. -- Two young brothers have died after being sucked beneath a load of grain and smothered on a farm in northwestern Alberta.
The incident happened about 160 kilometres northeast of Grande Prairie, Alta., RCMP said yesterday.
Calvin Wurz, who would have turned 8 on Monday, and his six-year-old brother, Kody, died Wednesday evening.
"They were always together," said Ben Wurz, their grandfather. "In life and in death."
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The boys were on top of a grain trailer that was being unloaded by a family member, Sergeant Ged Dentinger said.
"They were unloading the grain and at some point it was realized that the boys, at least one of them anyway, was trapped in the grain," he said.
The unidentified family member soon realized that a second boy was also missing and quickly determined that he, too, was inside the large bin.
"These types of trailers, there's a chute underneath. It comes into a hopper and at the base of the hopper there's a sliding trap door that opens to unload these trailers, so they unload very rapidly," Sgt. Dentinger said.
They were able to extract the boys through the chute at the bottom of the grain trailer about five minutes after they went in, he said.
Bystanders tried to revive them, but the boys were pronounced dead by emergency medical officials who arrived on the scene.
The incident was a sad reminder of the dangers of harvest time, Sgt. Dentinger said.
Farmers are very busy and only have a short amount of time to get their crops off, he said.
But for Calvin and Kody, working on the farm was a way of life, their grandfather explained, his voice cracking with emotion.
"They were interested in helping out," Mr. Wurz said. "In the colony way of life, the younger we can teach them, the better. They were just absolutely super kids. They were smart beyond measure."
Both were preparing to return to Codesa Hutterite Colony, a one-room schoolhouse teaching about 15 students, on Tuesday.
Police aren't contemplating any charges in the incident, Sgt. Dentinger said.
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