SYDNEY (Reuters) – A 37-year-old man has died and another was seriously injured after rocks collapsed inside an underground gold mine in Australia’s Victoria state, while 28 other workers at the site were saved, authorities said on Thursday.
Emergency crews were called to the Ballarat Gold Mine in Mount Clear, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Melbourne, on Wednesday evening after reports of a rockfall. The incident happened about 3 km underground from the mine entry, Victoria police said in a statement.
Paramedics were able to rescue one miner, who was treated for lower body injuries and airlifted to hospital in a serious condition. The miners who took refuge in a safety pod were winched to safety, police said.
Victory Minerals, which owns the Ballarat Gold Mine, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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