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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 49-year-old man working at the Colomac Mine site died on Sunday when he fell through ice on a tailings pond.

David Arthur Le Gros, a Yellowknife resident, was working for Tlicho Logistics at the time of his death.

"No foul play is suspected at this time, but the investigation is continuing," said RCMP Const. Kathy Law.

The man was last seen between 2 and 2:30 p.m. taking photographs near a tailings pond.

When he failed to return, two employees of the mine noticed his vehicle was still parked at the pond and his camera was sitting at the edge of an open patch of water on the ice.

According to a police statement, an emergency code was issued and employees responded to the scene with emergency equipment.

The body of the man was found under the ice shortly after a search commenced. RCMP received a report that a man had fallen through the ice around 6 p.m. They arrived on the scene approximately two hours later. Colomac Mine site is located about 220 km northwest of Yellowknife.

In 2003 an eight-kilometre fence was put up around the tailings containment area due to fears about caribou and other wildlife entering the area and consuming the salt-rich contaminants. The pond at the time was contaminated with cyanide, ammonia, arsenic, copper, lead, nickel and zinc - all products from Colomac's days as a gold mine in the 1980s and '90s. The mine closed in 1997 and was taken over by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, which has been responsible for its cleanup ever since.

Officials with the department said it is not yet clear how Le Gros fell through the ice or how thick the ice was, but that is being investigated.

Leon Lafferty, chief of Behchoko, said he heard the man was a safety officer with Tli Cho Logistics.

Le Gros' wife was contacted yesterday but did not wish to comment at the time. Tli Cho Logistics also declined to comment.