Preliminary investigations into the tragic death at Middlemount’s Grasstree Mine last week indicate that the worker entered a closed off area of the mine that was not properly signed as being off limits.
A Safety Alert issued by the Qld Department of Mines and Energy yesterday states, “He had attempted to enter a part of the mine that was being inertised (when a sealed section is filled with inert gas to reduce the risk of gas explosions and fires). To do so, he opened a hatch that had been closed, but was not clearly marked as inaccessible.”
However investigations are still continuing into the incident and it will be some time before a full report is released.
On 6 May an electrician was found collapsed by co-workers in an underground section of the Anglo American-owned Grasstree Coal Mine near Middlemount in Central Queensland.
Co-workers tried to revive the employee before bringing him to the surface where they continued the resuscitation, without success.
No other personnel were injured in the incident.
Add Comment