Re-entry commences at Grosvenor coal mine

A staged re-entry has commenced at the Queensland coal mine where five men were seriously injured in an explosion last week.

A staged re-entry has commenced at the Grosvenor coal mine for the first time since five men were seriously injured in an explosion there last week.

Chief Executive of Anglo American’s Metallurgical Coal business, Tyler Mitchelson, said the company’s risk assessment for re-entry had been approved by the Mines Inspectorate.

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“The staged re-entry ensures that all safety controls are in place including reconnecting the gas monitoring equipment, restoring power to the underground and pumping excess water from the mine,” he said.

The Grosvenor coal mine. Grosvenor Coal Mine Picture: Daryl Wright

“Re-entry to the mine will enable investigations into the incident to commence, we will ensure our investigation draws on the best possible expert advice.

“We will not resume mining until we are satisfied that we know what happened and how we can avoid it happening again.”

Mr Mitchelson said staff had been working “tirelessly, under challenging circumstances” to ensure inspectors could safely re-enter the mine to begin investigations.

One of the injured miners who were flown on a Royal Flying Doctors plane after the explosion. Picture: AAP/Josh Woning

“It would not be right for us or anyone else to comment on the circumstances leading up to this incident, as this will all form part of the thorough expert investigation,” he said.

“It is therefore very premature for anyone to speculate on the causes of this particular incident.”

The five injured men, who were severely burned in the central Queensland explosion on Wednesday were part of the ‘A Crew’ which was expected to hand over to the ‘B Crew’ on the day the disaster occurred.

Grosvenor coal mine. Picture: Daryl Wright

A suspected gas leak has been cited as the potential cause of the underground blast.

Two of the injured men are from the Sunshine Coast and two live in Brisbane.

One man is from Moranbah.

In the wake of the tragedy, B Crew raised almost $100,000 in 24 hours for their injured comrades.