Tensions flared at a protest against Kinder Morgan in Burnaby Wednesday when a demonstrator placed himself under the vehicle of a contractor in a bid to halt survey work.

The showdown took place on Burnaby Mountain, the site Kinder Morgan says must be drilled for core samples to see if a proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion can go underneath the hill.

The energy giant notified the City of Burnaby Friday that it planned to continue survey work, after a National Energy Board ruling granted the company access to the site, despite pushback from the city.

Burnaby announced last week that it would appeal the NEB’s ruling.

Opponents of the project set up camp halfway up the mountain before contractors arrived.

One man placed himself underneath the front passenger side of an unmarked Jeep belonging to a member of the survey crew.

Police expressed concern for the man, who reportedly asked for donuts and blankets and suggested he would remain underneath the vehicle for the rest of the day.

But he surfaced from the vehicle late Wednesday afternoon and was promptly taken into custody by RCMP and faces charges of mischief.

Other protesters blocked off access to the work site, saying they wouldn't let crews through because they wanted to preserve a municipal conservation area.

“We’re simply going to be in a public space, as we have the right to be, and we’ll be there where they need to be, so they can’t be there if we’re there,” said pipeline opponent Stephen Collis

“We use the park, we love this park. We’re concerned about this and concerned, frankly, about the neighbourhood of the suburbs surrounding the area on lower ground.”

Kinder Morgan announced on Twitter it was unable to complete survey work after crews were obstructed by protesters in multiple locations.

The company said it was “exploring our next steps to complete the work.”

The proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would nearly triple capacity of the existing line between Alberta and the B.C. coast.

With reports from CTV Vancouver's Lisa Rossington and Nafeesa Karim.