Four miners horrifically burned in underground gas explosion continue to fight for their lives – as their devastated co-workers raise $80,000 in hours
- Five people badly injured in mine explosion at Moranbah in Central Queensland
- Rushed to hospital suffering significant burns to their upper bodies and airways
- Four are fighting for their lives in a critical condition while the other is stable
- Colleagues have raised $82,000 for their future treatment in 24 hours
- Explosion occurred at the Grosvenor coal mine, operated by Anglo American
Four mine workers are still fighting for their lives on ventilators after an underground blast inside a coal mine, while a fifth is steadily improving.
The men, who all have extensive burns, are recovering in a Brisbane hospital after they were transferred from the Grosvenor Coal Mine at Moranbah in central Queensland on Thursday.
They were part of the longwell 'A' crew working underground when the blast rang out on Wednesday afternoon. The mining union believes a gas ignition along a coalface is to blame.
Colleagues from the 'B' team launched a GoFundMe appeal yesterday to support the long recovery ahead, and have already secured $82,000.
'This accident has shocked us all, and this is the least we can do to assist their families,' the fundraiser read.
Four mine workers are fighting for life and a fifth is in a stable condition after an underground blast at a Queensland coal mine on Wednesday afternoon. The men were rushed to Brisbane for treatment
Four of the victims remain on ventilators in a critical condition after the explosion burned the majority of their torsos and airways.
A 44-year-old man has been gradually improving since the explosion and is now in a stable position, a spokeswoman from Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital said.
The transfer from central Queensland to Brisbane was a complex medical evacuation which involved five planes.
Four of the men, aged 43, 45 and two aged 51, were placed in induced comas to travel, The Courier Mail reported.
All five are now receiving specialist care in the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
Senior medical officer Dr Deborah Simmons, who was on the scene at the time of the explosion and has been credited with saving their lives, said the men all remained calm during the aftermath.
The workers, who all have extensive burns, were flown to Brisbane overnight in a complex medical evacuation involving five planes. Four of the men reportedly had to be placed into induced comas to travel
'They were just talking about the fact that they were in pain,' she said.
But she insisted it was the nursing staff at the local hospital - which has a capacity for two emergency patients at a time - that kept the men alive.
'It was this small rural hospital that has a two-bed emergency department that managed four patients that needed to be intubated and ventilated for three hours and had them ready for the retrieval teams to pick up,' she said. 'They are the ones that saved those people's lives.'
The men's colleagues said they will require extensive medical care well into the future, and thanked the community for digging deep to fund the treatment.
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Mine operator Anglo American evacuated the worksite (pictured), and all other employees have been accounted for
'It really shows how much the mining community can band together when the chips are down,' fundraiser organiser Robin Buchanan wrote.
Mine operator Anglo American evacuated the worksite, and ensured all other employees were accounted for following the explosion.
'Five people have been injured and transported to hospital. All of the injured people's families have been contacted,' a statement from the mining company read.
Stephen Smyth, who is the mining and energy president of the Construction Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, said the explosion could have been catastrophic.
There were hundreds of miners working in the region before the explosion took place.
Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham says four mine inspectors had already been on site to begin preliminary investigations.
Four of the victims remain on ventilators in a critical condition in Brisbane after the explosion burned the majority of their torsos and airways. They were transferred from central Queensland
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