THE state’s mining watchdog has wrapped up its investigation into a truck crash that seriously injured a worker at Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek Mine.
The NSW Resource Regulator has released a report which found a 43-year-old worker was seriously injured last month in the crash when the service truck he was driving collided with a large haul truck.
The incident occurred at 7.58am on April 21 when a Caterpillar 773 service truck and a fully-laden Hitachi EH5000 haul truck collided at a major four-way intersection on the mine haul road.
Investigators found the intersection traffic control rules were changed one day prior to the incident, the report stated. Following the collision, the 43-year-old labour-hire operator was then transported to hospital by helicopter.
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The report found the service truck which is used to transport diesel, and has a gross weight of 103 tonnes, sustained substantial damaged.
A Whitehaven Coal spokesperson said it was treating the “safety incident extremely seriously”.
“The safety of Whitehaven’s workforce is our absolute number one priority,” the spokesperson said.
“Our policies and procedures are designed and tested to ensure that everyone, from truck drivers to administrative staff, return home safely at the end of every shift.”
The regulator’s report stated Whitehaven Coal was fully co-operating with the investigation, and an investigation report will be prepared for the Secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment.
“Whitehaven has and will continue to cooperate fully with the regulator throughout its investigation,” the Whitehaven spokesperson said.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
