Smoke from an oilfield fire October 20, which injured four, billows from the forest near Moose Mountain Provincial Park. There is no word on the condition of those injured.

Investigative teams are at the site of a Friday fire which sent four workers to hospital.

The workers were part of a crew contracted by Harvest Operations Corp. to install a pipeline about 18 miles south of Kipling in its Hazelwood oil field properties.

The fire erupted when a track-hoe, excavating the trench, struck an existing, pressurized pipeline containing emulsion — crude oil and water.

Three of those injured were working alongside the trench, some distance away, putting together lengths of pipe. All suffered burns and varying degrees of smoke inhalation. The operator of the track-hoe also received burns to his hands.

The two injured most seriously were taken to hospital in Regina. The other two were treated at Kipling.

All are with Supreme Oilfield Construction and reside in the Estevan area.

Valves were quickly closed to shut in the section of the pipeline containing the rupture and the area secured. The fire burned itself out within about two hours, during which time a large plume of smoke could be seen from many miles away.

Both Harvest and Supreme are conducting investigations into the incident, as is the Province’s Occupational Health and Safety branch.