'The likelihood of survival is low': Hopes fade for missing worker buried under soil and rocks after mine collapse
- A worker was buried under a wall at Northern Territory's Bootu Creek Mine
- Authorities are now saying the man probably died in the 26 hours since collapse
- The employee is believed to be buried under 'significant amount of soil and rock'
An employee at a Northern Territory mine is still buried under a pile of rock and soil after the walls around him collapsed more than a day ago.
The likelihood that the 59-year-old man is still alive gets slimmer by the hour after he was trapped in a mine in Bootu Creek, about 110km north of Tennant Creek on Saturday afternoon.
He has now spent more than 26 hours underground as colleagues and emergency services worked around the clock to try to rescue him.
NT Police Superintendent Christopher Board agreed the rescue mission is likely to turn into one of locating a body.
The likelihood that the man is still alive gets slimmer by the hour after he was trapped in a mine in Bootu Creek (pictured), about 110km north of Tennant Creek on Saturday afternoon
'Sadly, due to the nature of the collapse the likelihood of survival is low,' he said.
'The instability of the site remains very real which has delayed any excavation at this time.'
Emergency services reported the substantial wall failure at about 2.40pm on the site's Western Limb.
'Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, the workers, and the emergency services responding.'
The worker is believed to be from Darwin.
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NT Police Superintendent Christopher Board agreed the rescue mission is likely to turn into one of locating a body
'An employee is believed to have been engulfed under a significant volume of soil and rock,' an NT Police, Fire and emergency services spokesman said.
NT Worksafe has been notified.
Tennant Creek police said employees at the mine are coordinating the rescue operation with the assistance from police.
Resources Minister Paul Kirby has now instructed those on the job to retire for the night and cease work at the mine.
The manganese ore mine is owned by Singapore-based company OM Holdings.
They exported the mine's first shipment of ore in 2006.
In 2013, they were fined $150,000 for desecrating a sacred Aboriginal site at Bootu Creek known as 'Two Women Sitting Down' in what was described as a landmark ruling.
The ASX-listed business also operates in China, Japan, Malaysia and South Africa.
A worker has been buried under a collapsing wall at the Bootu Creek Mine (pictured), about 110km north of Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory
