Qld mine collapse: Dylan Langridge, Trevor Davis mourned

As family and friends mourn two mine workers killed in an underground disaster, the tragedy is having a ripple effect on the community.

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The children of a Queensland miner will never get to see their father come home and another family has been torn apart in a tragic mining disaster that killed two respected workers.

Barminco employees Dylan Langridge and Trevor Davis died after their ute fell about 15m down a void within a ­previously backfilled stope at the Dugald River underground mine near Cloncurry in northwest Queensland.

Rescue crews worked tirelessly to find them, but the pair didn’t survive.

The mother of Dylan Langridge’s children, Kelly Mcburnie, said their kids were waiting for their dad to come home.

“We know you’re down there fighting, pls (sic) keep fighting, there (sic) close to finding you, you need to come home to your kids, to your family,” she wrote in a social media post.

Dylan Langridge

Trevor Davis

“Your kids are waiting to tell you how much they love you.”

Ms Mcburnie shared photos of Mr Langridge and his two children, a boy and a girl.

The collection of photos showed them enjoying fishing, time at the beach, camping and laughing together.

Ms Mcburnie said she was a “mess” and that her children were “devastated” at the loss of their dad.

A former work colleague of Mr Davis described “tricky Trev” as a “likeable bloke”.

The close friend said any mining incident that involved stopes, an underground excavation, was “unforgiving”.

“I’ve worked at a few sites with accidents around stopes and there’s never been a good outcome,” he said.

The Courier-Mail understands Mr Davis was originally from Coffs Harbour, NSW, but had worked in the mining industry all his life.

Cloncurry Shire Mayor Greg Campbell said that the incident had hit close to home for many people in the local community.

“Even if local people didn’t know these two miners personally, everyone knows somebody that works at one of the mines in the shire – it’s definitely hit close to home,” he said.

“It’s highlighted that even with a number of levels of ­safety, especially with underground mining, it is still relatively dangerous.”

The wife of a Dugald River miner said colleagues of Mr Langridge and Mr Davis were in a state of shock.

Workers at the Dugald River mine, near Cloncurry. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Our hearts broke yesterday … when these things happen it shocks the whole mining community,” she said.

“It’s such a remote area that the men & women out at Dugald are very close.

“They are family.”

Meanwhile, a relative of a miner who was involved in the 2006 goldmine collapse at Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Lauren Kielmann Charlton described the incident as “heartbreakingly tragic”.

“To the family and friends of Dylan and Trevor, I am so sorry for your loss. I know I’m just a stranger on the internet and it’s unlikely you’ll read this, but I was once in your shoes, many years ago in Beaconsfield,” she wrote.

“I truly understand the pain and disbelief you are feeling and I wish you didn’t have to go through this.”

The Dugald River mine, near Cloncurry. Picture: Liam Kidston