A man trapped at a coal mine in Central Queensland has died after a marathon effort to rescue him.
The operation to reach the man had entered its second night after the “roof fall” at the Mammoth Underground Mine near Blackwater, about 800 kilometres north-west of Brisbane and inland from Rockhampton.
The company that runs the mine confirmed the man’s death tonight.
“Coronado is deeply saddened by this incident and extends its deepest sympathies and sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the worker,” Coronado chief executive Douglas Thompson said.
“It is providing all support to the contracted coal mine operator, Mammoth Underground Mine Management Pty Ltd, which is currently working with the relevant authorities at site to understand the cause of the incident.”
Emergency services raced to the mine after the roof collapsed about 3pm (4pm AEDT) on Friday.
Another man was taken to hospital and a third was also rescued.
Resources Safety and Health Queensland said it would conduct “a thorough investigation into the nature and cause of this incident”.
“Loss of life in mining operations is unacceptable,” it said in a statement.
Mammoth Underground Mine is within Coronado’s Curragh Mine complex, about 10 kilometres north of Blackwater.
