MONTREAL — The Ontarian man who died in Sunday’s gondola accident at the Mont Tremblant resort was a selfless soldier who was devoted to his family, his brother said Tuesday.

Sheldon Johnson, 50, of Kingston, Ontario, is a member of the Canadian 5th Division and has served in the military for 20 years, the military said in a statement, offering condolences to the soldier’s family, colleagues and friends.

In a statement on behalf of the family, his brother Shawn described Sheldon Johnson as “the loving father of three wonderful children – two survivors whom he misses terribly now and an angel in heaven whom he cuddles today.”

He recalled a man “a devoted man to his family, a wonderful caring brother, a friend,” someone “who always thinks of others before he thinks of himself.”

“His life was too short, he had so much more love to give,” his brother wrote. We will really miss him.”

A Canadian Forces spokesman, Capt. Matt Zalot, said Mr Johnson was a vehicle mechanic with the 21st Electronic Warfare Regiment, based in Kingston. The military says in its statement it is offering support to Mr Johnson’s family “at this extremely difficult time”.

Investigators from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the Commission for Standards, Equity and Occupational Health and Safety (CNESST) returned Tuesday to the Laurentians Resort northwest of Montreal to search the mountainside for the site of the accident that happened late Sunday morning.

Mr Johnson’s partner injured in the accident was taken to hospital in critical condition. The SQ said Tuesday that the woman, in her 50s, also from Ontario, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Although doctors were able to stabilize her on Monday, she is not completely out of danger, Sergeant Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said.

The pair were ejected when the observation nacelle was struck by the mast of a drill being moved down the slope about halfway down. According to police, the drill initially struck a first unoccupied gondola before colliding with the second carrying Mr Johnson and his companion.

Sergeant Bilodeau said investigators were continuing to speak to witnesses and wanted to question the operator controlling the exercise, a man in his 30s who police said was not yet able to speak to investigators. His employer said he was hospitalized with a nervous shock after the accident.

In a press release issued Monday evening, the management of Forage M2P, owner of the machine, offered their condolences to the families of the victims.

Company President Maxime Patry said the rig will be moved in a path planned by the station owner. Mr Patry claimed Sunday’s “sad combination of circumstances” “represents an isolated incident that, at first glance, can be attributed to either human error, errors in communication or mechanical failure”.

“It would clearly be premature and even reckless to propose any hypothesis to explain this accident,” he added.

A Mont-Tremblant station spokeswoman, Catherine Lacasse, said in an email that she would not comment further due to the ongoing investigations by the SQ and CNESST.

At the time of conducting its investigation, CNESST had ordered the suspension of the panoramic gondola service that carries visitors to the top of the mountain. Lacasse said most other station operations resumed on Tuesday.