'Chills up your back': Miner details horrific underground explosion
The Queensland underground mine explosion that seriously injured five workers and could have wounded hundreds more was completely avoidable, according to the union’s president.
Four of the workers are critical and another is in a serious condition after the incident at Anglo American’s Grosvenor coal mine in Moranbah, southwest of Mackay, Central Queensland, on Wednesday at about 3.14pm.
When Queensland Mining and Energy president and underground coal miner Stephen Smyth received the call with news of the explosion, he said it was enough to “put chills up your back”.
“I can imagine what these poor bastards went through with this incident and the ripple effect through that mine and the mining industry in Queensland,” Mr Smyth told the Today show.
“Everyone feels it and they think how it could have been them and how it could have affected their lives. It is not a call anyone wants to get”
He said initially reports suggested there had been an ignition of some kind that caused the explosion which “engulfed the workers in that immediate area”.
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“At this stage that will be a part of the investigation to get to the bottom of what caused this terrible, terrible incident.”
Given there would have been hundreds of workers on site at the time of the explosion, Mr Smyth said the blast had the potential to injure and destroy far more than it did
“It could potentially have caused catastrophic loss of life and damage to that mine,” he said.
“I hate to use the words but they dodged a bullet. The five workers haven't clearly, but certainly other workers have.
“It is just terrible and tragic and our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of the workers.”
Mr Smyth also told ABC radio that workers at the mine had previously expressed concern about gas levels at the site.
“This mine has a lot of gas issues. They certainly have trouble at times managing methane,” he told the program.
“There (have) been concerns by the workforce there around the gas levels.”
The mine has been closed while authorities conduct a thorough investigation to determine what caused the explosion.
“That investigation will take a period of time. Obviously we want to get to the bottom of why it
happened and look at the contributing factors to ensure that accidents don't happen like this in our mining industry,” he said.
“It is totally unacceptable and avoidable.”
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