PETERBOROUGH-Police say a 63-year-old man who was injured in a propane explosion has died.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Peterborough County OPP officers, along with local Fire and EMS, responded to a report of a propane explosion on Villiers Line, in Otonabee-South Monaghan. The explosion occurred in a residential trailer located on property owned by Bellmere Winds Golf Resort.
One individual, a 63-year-old male from Warkworth, was airlifted to a Toronto-area hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased on Thursday, July 23, 2026. On a Facebook post he was identified as Derek Harding. His wife Clare wrote: “I can confirm that my husband, Derek Harding, succumbed at 1.10am this morning to catastrophic burns as a result of the propane explosion at Bellmere Winds golf resort. I would ask that you offer us the courtesy of privacy at this time whilst we grieve the loss of a much loved husband, father and grandfather.”
The investigation into the explosion is being conducted by the Peterborough County OPP major crime unit in conjunction with the Office of the Fire Marshal, Technical Standards and Safety Authority, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.
