- Two men have been missing for more than 24 hours.
- The guys were driving 125m (410ft) below inside the Dugald River mine near Cloncurry.
- A third member of their team escaped and called 911.
A search is underway for two men who have been missing for more than 24 hours following the collapse of a Queensland mine.
According to local media, the guys were driving 125m (410ft) below inside the Dugald River mine near Cloncurry on Wednesday when the ground broke away.
They plunged 25 meters into a void, but a third member of their team escaped and called 911.
A drone was used to find their vehicle, but there was no evidence of the missing guys.
Attempts to contact them via radio have gone unanswered.
The men, identified as Dylan Langridge and Trevor Davis in local media sources, are thought to be “fly-in, fly-out workers,” a regular practice in areas of Australia where staff are transported temporarily to isolated work locations.
All operations at the zinc mine have been paused as the search continues, according to mine owner MMG.
Rescuers worked all night using heavy equipment to obtain access to the car, and MMG general manager Tim Akroyd said on Thursday morning that a mission to rescue it from below had begun.
“We expect that this process will take some time,” he said, adding, “our thoughts remain very strongly with the families of our missing colleagues.”
Rescue crews were focused on resolving the “developing” issue “as fast and safely as possible,” according to Mark Norwell, CEO of Perenti, the company under which the workers operated.
“Everyone at Perenti is feeling the impact of this incident and whilst we hold deep concerns for the safety of our colleagues, we continue to be hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved.”
[embedpost slug=”/mountain-collapse-at-chinese-coal-mine-results-in-ten-deaths/”]