A miner has died following a mine collapsed in Victoria.
Emergency services were called to an operational mining site on Woolshed Gully Drive in Mount Clear about 4.50pm on Wednesday after reports of a rockfall.
Two people were pinned by fallen rocks while 25 workers took refuge in a safety pod.
Rescuers were working to retrieve a person trapped hundreds of metres underground on Thursday morning.
Victoria Police have confirmed that a 37-year-old Bruthen man has died.
The body of the man was recovered this morning.
“WorkSafe will investigate the incident while police will prepare a report for the coroner,” police said.
It comes as a 21-year-old Ballarat man fights for life in hospital after being flown to the Alfred Hospital for treatment.
The incident occurred 3km underground from the mine entry with Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, and Country Fire Authority’s Oscar 1 Mine Rescue Team responding to the call.
Victorian engineer Arnold Dix, who rescued 41 Indian miners in November last year, earlier said the rescue of the man trapped on Thursday morning is “like microsurgery”.
“They may not know exactly the status of the miner who was trapped at the moment,” he said on the Today Show on Thursday, adding there’s no time frame for the rescue.
“In terms of the circumstances the last trapped miner finds themselves in, we don’t know exactly what’s around them,” he said.
“It might be their ankle that’s trapped, and that might be all. But if the collapse has gone around them, then you don’t want to disturb the rock mass at all because your ability to breathe, of course, is dependent upon the pressure that you’re under.
“So it’s like microsurgery they’re doing at the moment to get this man out.”
Mr Dix said this is a “very serious situation” similar to what he dealt with in the Himalayas last year.
“These are incredibly difficult conditions to be working in. There’s of course, there’s been the collapse, the actual mine itself is blocked,” Mr Dix said on the Today Show Thursday morning.
“The area that they’re trapped in, this type of mining operation is in what’s known
as a fault zone, similar in some ways to what we were dealing with up in the Himalayas.
“Rescuers will be literally going millimetre by millimetre again, making sure they don’t trigger a collapse again, making sure they’re safe. And of course, getting that last miner out alive … very difficult, very difficult task.”
Mr Dix said while Australian mines are “incredibly safe by world standards”, it’s “still mining and it’s still underground”.
“And that 500m underground, the forces of the 500m mountain, or in this case rock above you … there’s a lot going on,” he said.
However, he said he’s confident “whatever can be done will be done”, with Australia having some of the best miners, rescue teams, and emergency services.
Bill Shorten said his old union, the Australian Workers Union (AWU), has been present since Wednesday afternoon.
“I’ve spoken to the secretary of the Union, Ronnie Hayden, who’s in Ballarat as we speak … the men are shocked. They’re grieving, the Union is reaching out to them and will no doubt be talking to them further in coming days,” he said on the Today Show on Thursday.
“I understand there’s a meeting with WorkSafe officials in the coming next couple of hours.”
He added Thursday’s focus is on the welfare of those involved.
“I think the big priority today is the psychology of the survivors and the rescuers attempts to get to the final missing man,” he said.
“I know that the AWU will be incredibly diligent … I think for the purposes of today, the focus has to be on the rescue of the missing of the missing workmate, there will no doubt be, all sorts of investigations.”
The incident has made Mr Shorten reflect on his time as AWU secretary during the 2006 Beaconsfield mine collapse.
“Some of the authorities wanted to assume that the missing miners were dead. And I remember these gritty underground miners are saying until we can find the bodies, it’s a rescue, not a recovery.”
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiogFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC92aWN0b3JpYS9uZXdzL21hbi10cmFwcGVkLWZvci1tb3JlLXRoYW4tMTMtaG91cnMtYWZ0ZXItYS1taW5lLWNvbGxhcHNlLWluLW1vdW50LWNsZWFyL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvNTJjZDYzNjJkOTkyZjIzNTg0NmY1Y2FkY2MyOTNhMGLSAQA?oc=5
2024-03-13 21:00:00Z
CBMiogFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC92aWN0b3JpYS9uZXdzL21hbi10cmFwcGVkLWZvci1tb3JlLXRoYW4tMTMtaG91cnMtYWZ0ZXItYS1taW5lLWNvbGxhcHNlLWluLW1vdW50LWNsZWFyL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvNTJjZDYzNjJkOTkyZjIzNTg0NmY1Y2FkY2MyOTNhMGLSAQA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Tragedy as miner dies after collapse - news.com.au"
Post a Comment