The heartbroken colleagues of two miners who died on the job were faced with the gruelling task of digging up their mates’ bodies from a void 125 metres underground.
Dylan Langridge, 33, and Trevor Davis, 36, were laying explosives 100m below ground at the Dugald River mine, 70km from Cloncurry in north-west Queensland, on Wednesday morning when tragedy struck.
The men were in a light utility vehicle around 8am when the ground beneath them began to collapse, causing the pair and their car to be sucked into a 25m-deep stope – a large void where ore is extracted.
Another worker, who was operating a 30-tonne drill rig nearby, was also partially dragged in but miraculously managed to escape.
Mr Langridge and Mr Davis sadly weren’t able to escape their vehicle in time and were crushed in the underground mine with rescuers finding their bodies on Thursday afternoon.
Dylan Langridge (pictured with the mother of his children Kelly Mcburnie) died while working at the Dugald River mine, 70km from Cloncurry in north-west Queensland, when the ground suddenly gave way
Trevor Davis was also found dead. The pair had been laying explosives 100m underground in a ute when the ground collapsed
Mount Isa Police Inspector Erin Shawcross said investigations into the incident were continuing and offered his sympathies to the workers who ‘dug up their mates’.
‘I take my hat off to the mine employees who were emotionally triggered but knew there was a job to be done and worked really hard in the trying circumstances,’ he said.
The bodies of Mr Langridge and Mr Davis have been removed from the site and will be transferred to Brisbane or Townsville for coronary proceedings before being returned to their families.
Loved ones have since paid tribute to the miners with the mother of Mr Langridge’s two young children sharing a desperate plea for him to come home safely before he was announced dead.
The bodies of Mr Langridge (pictured) and Mr Davis have been removed from the site and will be transferred to Brisbane or Townsville for coronary proceedings before being returned to their families
Loved ones have paid tribute to the miners killed (pictured is Mr Langridge)
The bodies of miners Trevor Davis and Dylan Langridge have been recovered after they were trapped in the underground Dugald River zinc mine
‘We know you’re down there fighting, please keep fighting,’ Kelly Mcburnie wrote.
‘They’re close to finding you, you need to come home to your kids, to your family.
‘I’m sorry for anything I’ve ever said or done, nothing will ever stop me caring for you. The kids need their dad, please be OK.’
Another friend of the two miners said he’d lost two ‘brothers’.
‘Some of the hardest workers that I have ever charged with and you definitely will never be forgotten,’ he said.
Another colleague said Mr Langridge felt like family to her.
‘You taught me so much and we helped each other through a few very tough times in our lives but you always made work not so much like work and had a cheeky grin at the end of the day,’ she said.
One fellow miner said he was ‘privileged’ to work beside Mr Langridge, adding Mr Davis ‘always had my back’.
Mr Langridge is seen with loved ones. He began working with the mining company Barminco in 2020
The men were employed by mining contractor Barminco.
The managing director and chief executive of its parent company, ASX-listed Perenti, Mark Norwell said of the discovery of the men’s bodies: ‘This is a devastating outcome.
‘I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday.’
It remains unclear what caused the ground in the mine to collapse.
The operator of the drill rig is receiving medical treatment and remains in a stable condition.
Part of the ute Mr Langridge and Mr Davis had been in was found hidden in the debris via a drone but when colleagues tried to reach them over the radio, there was no response.
Mr Langridge began working with Barminco in March, 2020.
He worked as a truck operator at Savannah mine, in WA, before transferring to help service crews at Dugald River later that year.
In October of 2021 he was promoted to charge up operator.
Mr Davis began working for Barminco just months after Mr Langridge in August, 2020.
He worked as a shotcrete operator at Rosemont mine, WA, before he was transferred to work alongside Mr Langridge as a charge up operator at Dugald River in November, 2021.
Dugald River (above) general manager Tim Akroyd said mine heads ‘will provide all the support we can’ to Mr Davis and Mr Langridge’s grieving families
Dugald River general manager Tim Akroyd said everyone at the mine site is struggling to comprehend the devastating crash.
‘Our hearts and thoughts are with the family and friends at this time and we will provide all support that we can,’ he said.
‘I’d like to sincerely thank everyone involved in the emergency response to this incident and the support we have received from community and authorities.’
Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the tragedy ‘should never have happened’.
‘The loss of life in any workplace at any time is not acceptable. Families should be able to expect that when their loved ones depart for work that they return safely.’
Dugald River mine has been hiring contractors from Barminco since early 2012.
Mining operation at Dugald River have been suspended while a joint investigation between Barminco and relevant authorities begins its analysis of the incident.
Resource Safety and Health Queensland will lead the initial investigation.
Dugald River mine, 70km from Cloncurry in north-west Queensland (above), extract zinc by blasting the material away in stopes, which are later backfilled to stabilise the ground
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk