A Copper Mines Tasmania geologist has dramatically recounted the rescue of one of two men who fell into a shaft at the Mount Lyell mine.
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Lachlan Brown appeared at a coronial inquest on Thursday, examining the deaths of Craig Gleeson and Alistair Lucas as well as the death of Michael Welsh in a mud rush six weeks later.
The inquest had previously heard criticism over the time and methods taken to reach and rescue Mr Lucas who was still alive after the 22-metre fall through a loosely constructed pine platform.
Mr Brown said the rescue team planned to abseil down the shaft and place Mr Lucas on a board to nurse spinal injuries on top of a man cage, attached to a pulley system.
He said there was some delay caused by the man cage being unfit for use the first time it was lowered.
Mr Brown said it was quicker and safer to lift Mr Lucas up the shaft rather than have the ambulance take him from nearby level.
“We knew it was time critical and urgent because somebody was still alive,” Mr Brown said
“Looking back now, we were doing things where the levels of risk were too high.
“It was clear that his injuries were significant. What we could see was a twisted body.
“He was quite lifeless to begin with. We were trying to keep his airway open; he was coughing up a lot of blood.
“We were treating him for some time. In a rescue, it feels like an eternity.”
Mr Brown said some workers involved in the rescue had never performed the task before though did so competently, despite the emotional strain of dealing with two workers they knew well.
“I put a blanket over Craig so they didn’t need to see the condition he was in but even that was enough to rattle them,” he said.
The rescue effort saw Mr Brown awarded a bravery award by the Tasmanian Minerals Council the following year.
As geologist superintendent at the mine, Mr Brown was responsible for informing mine engineers of resource locations which involved assessing drawpoints for ore.
He said in August 2013, the mine experienced its wettest winter following the 2009 mud rush which had temporarily closed the mine.
Mr Brown said at that point, the mine was close to a high risk of a mud rush event but the risk decreased rapidly before January 17 when the loader Mr Welsh was operating was inundated by 1500 square metres of material.
But he said there was hesitance from shift bosses to increase risk levels leading up to that incident.
“We didn’t see it being raised from low to medium unless it was assessed by geologists,” he said.
