A beloved father and grandfather has been named as the second worker to die at a major mine in two weeks.
John Linwood, 56, of Bundaberg, died at the Byerwen coal mine near Glenden west of Mackay in central Queensland after being crushed by a haulage truck at 1pm on Thursday.
On Saturday, August 3, Chris Schloss, 48, a father of five, died at the same location when he was struck by a crane.
All workers at the Bowen Basin mine were sent home with full pay the day after the incident that killed Mr Linwood, and the mine remains closed pending initial investigations by police and Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ).
“This will be a complex investigation due to the location of the incident,” said Senior Constable Mark Siddall of the Forensic Accident Unit.
“It will be some time before we know all the facts of what happened.”
Mr Linwood, a contractor from Macmahon, was driving a light vehicle which was struck by the larger haulage truck as it left the Byerwen opencast mine.
RSHQ has temporarily halted the operation of all heavy vehicles on the site following the two ‘disheartening and worrying’ deaths.
John Linwood, 56, a man from Bundaberg, died at the Byerwen coal mine, near Glenden in north Queensland, after being crushed by a haulage truck at 1pm on Thursday.
Mr Linwood is the second worker to die at the site in two weeks and a full investigation is now underway.
Police concluded their investigation at the scene and handed the area over to RSHQ teams on Friday.
RSHQ chief executive Rob Djukic said heavy machinery operations would not resume until its inspectors were satisfied the site was safe.
“QCoal has decided to suspend operations at the mine, but we have taken this additional measure to ensure that no activities involving heavy vehicles can be undertaken until our inspector is satisfied that it is safe to do so,” Djukic said. The Courier Mail reports.
‘We need to allow the mine to continue with some activities because it would be unsafe if it suddenly stopped operating.
“We have not ruled out further action and our inspectors will continue to assess the site in the coming days.”
Mr Djukic assured workers and their families that RSHQ is “conducting a thorough investigation’ and is committed to taking appropriate measures.
A coal inspector and an investigator from the serious incident investigation unit have already been deployed to the mine on behalf of RHSQ.
It is understood that the driver of the transport truck had sufficient experience in the industry.
Critical Natural Resources and Minerals Minister Scott Stewart said even one workplace death was “one too many” at the Bush Summit in Townsville on Friday.
“This is another person who went to work to do the right thing… and he’s not coming home to his family and friends,” Stewart said.
‘These things can be stopped, and they are stopped through thorough risk analysis.
“There is no such thing as bad luck. The important thing is to make sure that a risk analysis is carried out.
“It’s about making sure we report unsafe behavior… but also making sure we take care of our colleagues.”
Mr Stewart said he believed RSHQ had some of the “best inspectors working on our sites” and a thorough investigation would be carried out.
On Saturday, August 3, Chris Schloss, 48, a father of five, died at the same location when he was struck by a crane.
RSHQ chief executive Rob Djukic said he was “conducting a thorough investigation” into the workplace deaths, adding that all operations at the mine had ceased for the time being.
Mr Schloss, 48, left behind his wife and five children when he was killed in Byerwen in early August.
“While it is too early to identify the cause of the incident, initial reports indicate that it involved a lift and transport crane,” RSHQ said at the time.
“The QCoal family has suffered a devastating loss with the death of Chris Schloss in an incident at the Byerwen mine on Saturday,” QCoal group chief executive James Black said in a statement.
“His family is facing the worst news they could ever hear and we are helping them overcome this tragedy.”
Mining and Energy Union general vice president Steve Smyth called for the mine to be closed until all investigations into the deaths are completed.
“QCoal is acting like a cowboy,” Smyth said.
“It’s absolutely tragic, but you also get angry at the same time because in the space of three weeks we’ve had another incident at the same coal mine. We’re at a loss.”
Macmahon, who was awarded the prize The mining contract at Byerwen until June 2025 confirmed that it would work with researchers and provide advice to staff.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and co-workers of our colleagues,” said managing director Mick Finnegan.
Mackay man Luke O’Brien, 27, was the first mine fatality of the year when he became trapped between two vehicles at the Dysart mine in Bowen Basin on January 15.
Mr Smyth said there had been 45 serious incidents at the mines since January 1.