Resources employees were forced to leave their posts when their workplace caught ablaze.
Dozens of workers recently evacuated Mandalay Resources’ Augusta mine, 60km east of Bendigo.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA), Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria attended the scene after a fire was reported at about 12:30am on 5 March 2023.
Emergency responders and a team from the nearby Fosterville mine rescued total of 15 crew members who extinguished the flames and relocated to the underground refuge chambers.
“Wearing long-duration breathing apparatus sets the rescue team took fire extinguishers down the mine with them to put out any hot spots,” CFA district two assistant chief fire officer Steve Alcock said in a public statement.
“Using gas monitors the rescue crew went all the way to the bottom of the mine, doing air sampling to ensure the atmosphere was clear from any toxins. Crews ensured the air was safe and breathable before escorting the 15 workers back up to the surface.”
The group exited the mine at about 6:50am the same morning and received urgent medical attention in a rehab tent.
“They were all cleared with no reported injuries,” Alcock said.
Operations were handed back to the site managers at about 7:30am.
SafeWork is investigating the fire’s possible causes.
