How long were the beaconsfield miners trapped underground

The disaster claimed the life of Larry Knight, whose body was discovered two days after the disaster. Rescue efforts were more like a body recovery operation. For six days, the duo survived on mine water and shared a muesli bar while rescue teams worked tirelessly, blasting rock in an effort to get closer to where the bodies might be. These blasts almost killed the men, who were trapped in a telehandler basket. They would wait for the blasts to come, unaware of whether they would survive the next one.

When asked what prevented tonnes of dirt and rock from killing the men, Todd answers promptly. And a miracle it was. It was this underground karaoke, that let the world know they were still alive. Through the darkness, they heard a voice. But it was another eight days before the men would step out of the mine.

The rescue team worked tirelessly to get the men out, in the meantime they set up a lifeline, sending food and water to the men through a pipe. The men were communicating with rescue teams, and felt so close to rescue — yet, the hard rock was too difficult and unpredictable to attack without careful precision and planning. The men appeared to be in good health and smiled broadly, punching the air in jubilation and waving to wellwishers.

He said the rescue operation had involved keeping the miners horizontal for as long as possible in case they were injured. The men were then pulled to safety through a vertical tunnel. But there was a bittersweet edge to the rescue, as it came just hours before the funeral of their colleague Mr Knight. The father-of-four is due to be buried in Launceston today.

Mr Gill said the two survivors had expressed a desire to attend the service. The men had displayed an impressively laid-back attitude to their fate throughout their ordeal. They survived the first week on a cereal bar and by licking the water from the rocks but have since been fed on meals passed down to them through a 40ft pipe.

On a psychologist's advice, an iPod with their favourite music stored on it was also sent through the pipe to keep up their spirits. Yesterday, according to the local Mercury newspaper, they made an unsuccessful request for chips and gravy to be sent down but doctors would only agree to chicken and cheese bread rolls with some tinned fruit for dessert.

Omelettes and home-made soups were also dispatched through a device similar to a dumb waiter. The trapped men also joked about asking for the classified ads column from the local paper so that they could see what other jobs might be on offer. The bonhomie which characterised the rescue attempt was saluted by the Australian prime minister, John Howard.

The Mercury reported that the prime minister had hailed the saga as "an example of Australian mateship". The rescue team worked around the clock, using low-impact explosives, hydraulic rock splitters, hand-held drills and diamond-tipped chainsaws.

They faced enormous problems in trying to drill their way in zigzag fashion through the rock without endangering the lives of the men as they tried to cut them a metre-wide escape tunnel in the 25 degree underground heat.

Kept up-to-date via a constant stream of reports from the media, many Australians sat on the edge of their seats as rescuers inched closer. She instructed paramedics to be honest — so the men would trust the voices talking to them — and carefully dolled out messages from family members. Highly emotional messages from family were kept in reserve for potentially tougher times. The sounds of freedom and farewell In the early morning of 9 May, a church bell — silent since the end of World War II — rang out to announce the end of the rescue effort and the men emerged looking remarkably intact.

Larry was farewelled by the sound of a motorcycle guard of honour and with the newly freed Todd Russell in attendance. The event put Beaconsfield on the map, where the Beaconsfield Mine Heritage Centre features a reconstruction of the mine collapse site.

Tourism to the township has increased to 40, visits a year since the rescue. Since the rescue, Webb has been involved in preventing workplace accidents and Russell is currently the Beaconsfield fire brigade chief. Remembering the Indigenous resistance fighter determined to maintain Aboriginal traditions by resisting British rule. On 4 May , the first brown trout eggs ever successfully shipped to Australia hatched in the cool waters of Plenty River, Tasmania — causing a ripple effect for both fishing and conservation that endures to this day.

Australians have commemorated Anzac Day on 25 April for more than a century, but the ceremonies and their meanings have changed significantly since Close Menu. Facebook Twitter Instagram Instagram Adventure.

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