September 4, 2008 | 4:00 PM CT. CBC

RCMP have identified the man who died Wednesday in a workplace fatality at Canadian Natural’s Horizon oilsands project, 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray. Richard Boyd Boughner, 47, from Love, Sask., died when the floating backhoe he was operating fell into a tailings pond that had just gone into operation on Friday. A company official said Wednesday the man was trapped inside the cabin of the backhoe.

After working for an hour to rescue the man, a dive team recovered his body at about 1:40 p.m. MT

Investigators from Alberta Occupational Health and Safety arrived on site Wednesday afternoon. They plan to examine the machinery involved in the incident, and will review the company’s safety procedures.

Twenty-one workers have now died on the job in Alberta this year.

The Horizon site, still under development, is a giant open-pit mine that could eventually produce 100,000 barrels of oil a day