Alert no. 482 | 24 July 2026 | Version 1

Fatal accident involving light vehicle at coal mine

What happened?

• A coal mine worker was fatally injured in a two-vehicle collision on Friday, 24 July 2026.
• Initial information suggests the collision involved a haul truck and a light vehicle on a haul road.
• Investigations are ongoing but precautionary safety measures are listed below to assist mine sites.

How did it happen?

• The incident occurred at the Peak Downs coal mine in Central Queensland.
• At approximately 4:38am a light vehicle (ute) was on the haul circuit when a collision occurred between the light vehicle and a haul truck.
• The passenger of the light vehicle died, and the driver of the light vehicle was injured and taken to hospital for treatment. The driver of the haul truck was uninjured.
• Investigations are in their early stages, so details of how the incident occurred are still being confirmed.
• RSHQ will release further information, as appropriate, as the investigation progresses.

Recommendations

The following recommendations and references are not in direct connection to the circumstances of this incident, but rather general advice for avoiding vehicle collisions on mine sites:

• Principal Hazard Management Plans (PHMPs) for ‘roads or other vehicle operating areas’ must be in place at all coal mines in Queensland.
• All PHMPs must include critical controls, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other controls to prevent material unwanted events, or to mitigate the consequences of a material unwanted event.
• Site senior executives (SSEs) should review their safety and health management systems (SHMS) to ensure the critical controls and other controls are implemented and effective to reduce risk to an acceptable level and as low as reasonably achievable.
• Persons must be trained and assessed as competent. Adequate supervision must be provided to ensure safe operations and the controls contained within the site’s SHMS are monitored for effectiveness.

References and further information

• Section 63 of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999
• Section 102A of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation 2017
• Safety Alert 463: Coal mine worker trapped by reversing vehicle
• Safety Alert 443: Fatal accident involving light vehicle and a stationary B-double
• Recognised Standard 19: Design and construction of mine roads