Ballarat Gold Mine collapse: One man still trapped after miners freed

A rescue mission is continuing for a miner who remains trapped after his fellow worker was freed from a mine collapse at Ballarat in Victoria’s Goldfields.

The pair were pinned by fallen rocks at the Mount Clear mine on Wednesday afternoon.

Police and paramedics managed to stabilise and extract one of the men at around 8.30 pm.

He was treated for lower body injuries and airlifted to hospital in a serious condition.

25 other miners who’d been able to take refuge in a safety pod after the collapse were successfully brought to the surface a short time later.

The incident occurred about 3km underground from the entrance to the mine.

The mine’s owners Victory Mineral have released a statement saying its emergency response team is working closely with Victoria Police and other authorities.

“Right now our priority is the safety and well-being of our mining workers and their families. We would like to assure the community we are working as quickly and as safely as we can to help bring this worker to the surface”, the statement says.

Victory Minerals took operational control of the Ballarat Goldmine in December 2023.

“We bring significant experience and expertise to the mine. We are a safety first mine operator and respect the work that underground miners perform every day”, its statement says.

The mine’s website states it has an extensive network of tunnels and operates deep beneath buildings, streets and homes.

In 2007, 27 miners were trapped underground at the mine for several hours before being winched to safety.

Ballarat Gold Mine declined to comment.

The suburb of Mount Clear was also the focus of the search for mother-of-three Samantha Murphy, however there is nothing to suggest any link.

22-year-old Patrick Orren Stephenson has been charged with murdering Ms Murphy at Mount Clear.