Alert no. 443 | 17 January 2024 | Version 1

Fatal accident involving light vehicle and a stationary B-double

What happened?

On Monday 15 January 2024, a coal mine worker suffered serious crush injuries when he was pinned between the tray of a moving light vehicle and the bull bar of a stationary B-double truck. The worker was taken to hospital for treatment but died later that evening from his injuries.

Queensland Police Service attended the scene before releasing it to Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) to commence an investigation into the incident.

How did it happen?

Early indications suggest the light vehicle was being set up to tow a B-double that had become bogged. When the light vehicle was reversed, it crushed the coal mine worker against the B-double.

Key issues

• Why a light vehicle was used for an attempt to tow a bogged B-double.
• How the light vehicle collided with the coal mine worker.
• Why and how the now deceased coal mine worker was in the position where the incident occurred.

Recommendations

Significant contributors in similar incidents include coal mine workers not being aware a standard operating procedure or similar work instruction was available from the safety and health management system (SHMS), with details of the controls to manage the hazards involved in the work activity. Site Senior Executives (SSEs) must ensure coal mine workers, and supervisors in particular, use the risk controls in the SHMS for every work activity.

SSEs should review the recommendations in Safety Alert 416 ‘Pedestrian suffers serious crush injury from reversing mobile plant’ published 15 September 2022, and Safety Alert 419 ‘Mobile Plant Reversing into Light Vehicle’ published 19 October 2022. Further safety notices relating to vehicle interactions and other critical hazards can be found on the RSHQ website and through the Mining Hazards Database.

Additional recommendations from the Queensland Mines Inspectorate may be published during and following the investigation into this incident.

References and further information

• Safety notices issued by RSHQ
• Mining hazards database
• September 2023 Incident Periodical Coal - Potential crush injury (pages 8 & 9)
• Safety Alert 419 'Mobile plant reversing into light vehicle' (19 October 2022)
• Safety Alert 416 'Pedestrian suffers serious crush injury from reversing mobile plant' (15 September 2022)
• Safety Alert 251 'Safe operation of light vehicles' (23 November 2010)