‘Completely avoidable’: Crew mate of Dugald River miners shares ‘haunting’ last words

A crew mate of two miners killed at a northwest Queensland mine last month has spoken of the final breakfast he shared with his “brothers” just hours before they died.

A crew mate of two miners, tragically killed at Dugald River in February, has spoken of the “haunting” breakfast he shared with his “brothers” just hours before they died.

Barminco employees Dylan Langridge, 33, from Bundaberg, and Trevor Davis, 36, from Pimpama on the Gold Coast, died after their vehicle fell down a void within a previously backfilled stope at the underground mine on February 15.

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

Jump operator Steven Poznik told the Sunday Mail that he had changed over to a new contractor that week but shared breakfast with Dylan and ‘Trev’ on that fateful morning.

TheDugald River mine, near Cloncurry, where two miners died. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Oddly enough those two boys had a bit of a sleep in that morning and I was flying out a bit later, I was sitting on my own at breakfast but then Dylan and Trev rolled in,” Mr Poznik said.

“There was barely anyone else in the room … we had a bit of a chat, a moment together … a couple of hours later that’s when it happened.

“It’s haunting … you keep thinking of those last few smiles.”

Mr Poznik said Dylan and Trev were his “charge boys” with “jump operators are at the forefront of the mining pack”.

Dylan Langrage, died in a mine collapse at Dugald River mine 70km from Cloncurry in northwest Queensland. Picture: Facebook.

Asked whether he felt guilty that he was not rostered on that day, Mr Poznik said “I feel very fortunate that I got to have breakfast with them … if I was on that crew, I would have got to work before them … I would have been in a different area and I never would have seen their faces”.

“We just shook hands and said ‘good luck with the next contract’ … those boys only had seven days left on site,” he said.

Mr Poznik, who also owns Dirty Hole Designs, recently created a T-shirt with a percentage of the proceeds to go to Miners’ Promise, an independent, not for profit, member-based organisation, designed to assist Australian resource workers and their immediate families who are impacted by a crisis event or death.

Trevor Davis was affectionately known as “little sexy”. Picture: Supplied

“People talk about miners being brothers and sisters but you really felt like they were your brothers,” he said.

Asked how he would remember Dylan and ‘Trev’, Mr Poznik said “every time I go in the hole”.

He said Dylan was a “wild man, with a grin that spoke more than words ever could” while Trev, who was affectionately known as “little sexy”, had a “full body chuckle”.

Mr Poznik said Trev’s funeral was on Thursday, just two days after the mine had been cleared to restart operations.

“There’s still some mixed emotions about going back … It was pretty clear (at the funeral) that if we weren’t all going back together, I’m not sure any of us would go back,” he said.

“It’s a bit daunting … losing a friend is never easy. Losing two at the same time is unthinkable. But losing two friends that form a part of such a small tight-knit crew and community, there are simply no words to describe how much harder that hits.”

Workers at the MMG Dugald River mine after the tragedy. Picture: Liam Kidston

The mine, run by MMG Limited, ceased operations after the incident.

But the company, in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), confirmed it had been given the green light to recommence operations from March 21.

Early investigations by Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) show the cavernous hole or “stope void” was caused due to “bogging operations” on the level below where the men were working.

It is “unknown at this stage” why bogging operations were being carried out according to the RSHQ.

It’s understood the drill rig operator fell about 15m down the stope when the earth collapsed beneath him but his colleagues in a ute fell about 10m further down the stope where rocks and rubble fell from above.

A GoFundMe organised by Mr Poznik had raised over $43,000 on Saturday.

“This is my fourth mine site with a fatality … the last fatality was exactly the same situation, it makes you think why do these things keep happening? … are they going to keep happening?”

Asked about the dangerous nature of mining, Mr Poznik said “This was completely avoidable”.

Originally published as ‘Completely avoidable’: Crew mate of Dugald River miners shares ‘haunting’ last words