“The incident occurred in 16 cut through in 7N panel and involved a shuttle car coming in contact with the cut-through rib line,” a Peabody spokesperson said.
“The operator of the shuttle car sustained injuries to his left hand, while a fitter/mechanic who was in the area adjacent to the cabin also sustained injuries.
“The crew came to the assistance of the two miners and they were evacuated from the scene to surface.”
Both men were first flown to Mackay Base Hospital, but the 26-year-old shuttle car operator, Ryan Matthews, was later flown to Royal Brisbane Hospital to get specialist attention on his hand injury.
Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union district union inspector Greg Dalliston told ILN yesterday that Matthews had had about four operations on his hand so far.
He did not comment on whether the worker would lose his hand.
The 38-year-old fitter, Stuart Foley, remains in Mackay Base Hospital with a fractured pelvis.
Peabody’s information and other reports indicate he possibly got caught between the shuttle car and the rib.
But Dalliston told ILN the accident was a fair bit different to the one at Moranbah North in 2007 where continuous miner operator Jason Blee was fatally crushed between a shuttle car and the rib at a bord and pillar section of the mine.
“The only similarity is that he got pinned by a shuttle car,” he said.
With both the workers under medication, the union has not yet been able to get their statements and therefore provide much comment on how the accident took place.
Peabody has flown its general manager of safety to the site to aid the ongoing investigation.
“Peabody will continue to provide assistance to the injured men and their families as they embark on their recovery,” the spokesperson said.
The company imposed four-hour work stoppages on all its sites to go through an interactive safety program, Safety - A Way of Life, while the Brisbane office is holding a two-hour stoppage for it today.
Operations at the North Goonyella mine are suspended as the Queensland Mines Inspectorate ordered a risk assessment before production can resume.
