‘Fallen on deaf ears’: Union raised safety fears before Ballarat mine tragedy

WorkSafe's Benjamin Wright (centre) says the reasons behind the fatal mine collapse are unclear. Photo: AAP
A miner is dead and another is fighting for his life after an underground collapse at a Victorian mine that has been at the centre of union safety concerns.
Both men were pinned by fallen rocks at the Ballarat Gold Mine on Woolshed Gully Drive at Mount Clear, north-west of Melbourne, before 5pm on Wednesday.
The body of a 37-year-old man who died after the rockfall, and named in multiple media reports as Kurt Hourigan of Bruthen, was recovered about 6am on Thursday.
A second man, 21, was stabilised and taken out of the mine the night before with lower body injuries.
The Ballarat man was flown to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and remains in a life-threatening condition.
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Another 29 miners who took refuge in a safety pod were also brought to the surface on Wednesday night.
The rockfall happened 500m underground and 3km from the mine’s entrance.
“It seems to have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.
The two workers were undertaking a manual type of mining called air legging, which involved drilling into a rock to create a tunnel, Hayden said.
“They were working on unsupported ground, trapping both miners and killing one,” he added.