VANCOUVER -- Three employees with Metro Vancouver have been fired following a fatal error involving the Cleveland Dam.
The employees were dismissed in connection with the sudden release of water during maintenance of the dam in North Vancouver.
One person is confirmed to have died as a result of the incident earlier this month, and another is still missing after being swept away.
Metro Vancouver officials determined the release of water on Oct. 1 was due to human error during maintenance of a drum gate.
On Friday, the region announced the employees' dismissal, but did not provide further details or name the workers.
The federation of municipalities says it is co-operating with agencies investigating what happened on that day.
A week after the torrent of water swept down the Capilano River, carrying local fishers along with it, Metro Vancouver's chief administrative officer told a committee the "clearest contributing factor" was human error related to "programming the spillway."
Jerry Dobrovolny said on Oct. 8 that the investigation was ongoing, but that it appeared the issue was tied to a computerized system responsible for several other uncontrolled water releases in the early 2000s.
"Metro Vancouver takes responsibility for this mistake, and our deepest sympathies go out to those affected by the tragic loss," Dobrovolny said.
Ryan Nickerson and his son, Hugh, were swept away, as were another four people who'd been fishing at the time. Ryan's body was recovered a short time later, but Hugh is still considered missing more than four weeks later.
Of the other four, two made it to shore on their own and two were rescued.
The fatal incident didn't appear to discourage local anglers, however.
Fishers returned to the river a short time later, and just two days after the initial report on what happened was made public, another six fishermen had to be rescued from its rising waters.
