Police will prepare a report for the Coroner following the death of a man near Winton on Saturday.
Emergency services were advised around 4pm that a man was missing at the Arch mining site near Opalton, 150km south of Winton, after a friend had visited and apparently found an unattended vehicle crushed by rocks.
A large trench had also collapsed in on itself and was full of dirt and rock.
Police and officers from the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, made their way to a shallow cut opal mine on a station located between Winton and Jundah.
Due to the remote location and rugged terrain it took emergency crews six hours to reach the location arriving around 10.30pm on Saturday.
Using their hands, police and fire officers dug through two metres of rubble before retrieving the man’s body.
The cause of the collapse remains unknown at this stage however there are no suspicious circumstances.
The 62-year-old Longreach man was working alone at the site.
Police will also advise Workplace Health and Safety and the Department of Mines and Energy of the incident.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
