National Bravery Awards will be given to four miners who used low intensity explosives to reach their trapped co-workers during the 2006 Beaconsfield mine rescue in Tasmania.
The work of Scott Franklin, Darren Flanagan, Jeremy Rowlings and the late Brett Chalmers was instrumental in saving the lives of Todd Russell and Brant Webb who were trapped underground for 14 days after a rock fall event.
Speaking to the ABC, explosives technician Darren Flanagan said the world-first rescue method was nerve-racking.
“The first shot was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life, but it just got worse and worse with each blast because with each blast we just got closer and closer to their bodies,” he said.
“It was just like having one of your own children born, when those two boys come out, that’s how powerful that emotion was and that feeling,” he said.
Paramedic Nicholas Chapman also was announced as a bravery award recipient however he was quick to credit the miners as being the real heros.
“The miners were the ones that really put themselves at risk and they were on jackhammers all day and explosives,” he told the ABC.
The miners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony scheduled to take place next year.
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