Two miners who went missing after a mine collapsed in Australia have died.
Dylan Langridge, 33, and Trevor Davis, 36, were driving 125m (410ft) underground in Queensland’s Dugald River mine on Wednesday when the ground gave way, local media say.
They fell 25m into a void along with their utility vehicle, a drill rig, and the drill rig operator.
The drill rig operator managed to escape and raise the alarm, before being treated for minor injuries.
Perenti, the global mining group which employed Mr Langridge and Mr Davis, said the pair’s bodies were found after a “significant” search operation at the mine near Cloncurry.
“This is a devastating outcome and I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday,” chief executive Mark Nowell said on Thursday.
The two men were reported to be “fly-in, fly-out workers”, a common practice in parts of Australia where staff are flown temporarily to remote work sites.
Mr Langridge joined Barminco, a Perenti company, in March 2020, Perenti said. He began working at the Dugald River mine later that year.
Mr Davis had worked at the mine since November 2021 after joining the company a year earlier.
Both worked as charge-up operators, a role that usually involves handling explosives and setting up blast areas for mining.
All operations at the zinc mine were suspended during the search, according to mine owner MMG.
Rescuers worked all night using heavy equipment to gain access to the utility vehicle, and on Thursday morning MMG general manager Tim Akroyd said a mission had begun to recover it from below.