The rescue of 26 miners from the Ballarat Gold Mine after a rockfall, with one miner still trapped
Emergency services are working to free one miner that remains trapped in the Ballarat Gold Mine after a rockfall on Wednesday afternoon.
Police, paramedics, and the Country Fire Authority’s mine rescue unit were called to the Mount Clear mine, south of Ballarat city centre, at about 4:50pm after 27 miners become trapped.[the_ad id=”9198″]
Victoria Police say two workers were pinned by the falling rocks, and another 25 workers were able to move to a safety point.
One of the two trapped workers was rescued on Wednesday evening and treated for lower body injuries before being airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in serious condition.
Emergency services are still working to free the second trapped miner. [the_ad id=”9200″]
The remaining 25 workers were brought to the surface late on Wednesday evening and are being assessed by paramedics.
Police said the incident occurred around 3 kilometres into the mine.
The mine is a working operation on the edge of suburban Mount Clear with tunnels and shafts stretching below houses.
It is not open to the public.
WorkSafe Victoria said it was sending people to the mine. [the_ad id=”9200″]
“WorkSafe has been notified of an incident at the underground mine in Mount Clear near Ballarat and inspectors and a technical specialist are responding,” a spokesperson said.
Matt Hernan, a geologist who formerly worked at Ballarat Gold Mine, told ABC Radio the mine started at Mount Clear and extended underground for kilometres into the centre of Ballarat.
“What you’re effectively mining is a fault,” he said.
“The fault zone … can often be broken and sort of lower strength in the surrounding sands and slates and that’s kind of a known variable that geotechnical engineers and geologists have to manage.”[the_ad id=”9200”]
Mr Hernan said while he didn’t know what caused Wednesday’s incident, mine workers were educated in safety procedures and would have been carrying emergency breathing equipment
