A beloved father and grandfather is the second worker to die in a major mine in two weeks.
John Linwood, 56, from Bundaberg, died at the Byerwen coal mine, near Glenden, west of Mackay in central Queensland, after he was crushed under a truck at 1pm on Thursday.
On Saturday, August 3, 48-year-old Chris Schloss, a father of five, died at the same location when he was hit by a crane.
All employees at the Bowen Basin mine have been sent home on full pay for the day following the incident that killed Mr Linwood. The mine remains closed pending initial investigations by police and Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ).
“It will be a complex investigation due to the location of the incident,” said Mark Siddall, chief constable of the Forensic Crash Unit.
“It will take some time before we know all the facts about what happened.”
Mr Linwood, a contractor from Macmahon, was driving a light vehicle that was run over by a larger truck as it left the Byerwen opencast mine.
RSHQ has temporarily suspended all heavy vehicles at the site following two “disheartening and concerning” deaths at the workplace.
John Linwood, 56, from Bundaberg, died at the Byerwen coal mine, near Glenden in north Queensland, after being crushed under a truck at 1pm on Thursday
Mr Linwood is the second worker to die on the site in two weeks and a full investigation is now underway
Police completed their investigation at the scene and handed over the area to RSHQ teams on Friday.
According to Rob Djukic, CEO of RSHQ, operations with heavy equipment will not resume until his inspectors are satisfied that the site is safe.
“QCoal has chosen to suspend operations at the mine, but we have taken this additional step to ensure that heavy vehicle operations cannot take place until our inspector is satisfied that it is safe to do so,” Mr Djukic said. reports the Courier Mail.
“We have to allow the mine to continue certain activities because it would be unsafe if the mine suddenly stopped operating.
‘We do not rule out further measures, so our inspectors will continue to assess the site in the coming days.’
Mr Djukic assured the employees and their families that RSHQ ‘to conduct a thorough investigation and is committed to taking appropriate action.
A coal inspector and an investigator from the serious incident investigation department have already been sent to the mine on behalf of RHSQ.
It is clear that the truck driver has sufficient experience in the sector.
Resources and Critical Minerals Minister Scott Stewart said even one workplace death was ‘too many’ at the Bush Summit in Townsville on Friday.
“This is another person who went to work to do the right thing … and didn’t come home to his family and friends,” Stewart said.
‘These kinds of things can be stopped, and that is done by conducting a thorough risk analysis.
‘There is no such thing as bad luck. It is about doing a risk analysis.
‘It’s about calling out unsafe behavior, but also about keeping an eye on your friends.’
Mr Stewart said he was confident RSHQ employed some of the “best inspectors on our sites” and that a thorough investigation would take place.
On Saturday, August 3, 48-year-old father of five Chris Schloss died at the same location when he was hit by a crane
Rob Djukic, CEO of RSHQ, said he is conducting a “thorough investigation” into the workplace deaths, adding that all operations at the mine have been halted for the time being.
Mr Schloss, 48, left behind a wife and five children when he was killed near Byerwen in early August.
“While it is too early to determine the cause of the incident, initial reports indicate that a pick-and-carry crane was involved,” RSHQ said at the time.
“The QCoal family has suffered a devastating loss following the death of Chris Schloss in an incident at the Byerwen mine on Saturday,” QCoal group managing director James Black said in a statement.
“His family is trying to cope with the worst news you can ever hear and we are helping them through this tragedy.”
Steve Smyth, vice-president of the Mining and Energy Union, called for the mine to be closed until all investigations into the deaths are completed.
“QCoal is acting like a cowboy,” Mr Smyth said.
“It’s absolutely tragic, but it also makes you angry, when in three weeks we’ve had another event in the same coal mine. We’re at our wits’ end.”
Macmahon, which received the prize The Byerwen mining lease, which runs until June 2025, confirmed that there would be cooperation with researchers and advice provided to staff.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and colleagues of our colleagues,” said Managing Director Mick Finnegan.
Luke O’Brien, 27, from Mackay, became the first mine worker fatality this year when he was trapped between two vehicles at the Dysart mine in the Bowen Basin on January 15.
Mr Smyth said there have been 45 serious incidents on mine sites since January 1.