Two miners who vanished when an Australian mine collapsed have now been found dead.
According to local media, Dylan Langridge and Trevor Davis were driving 125 meters (410 feet) deep on Wednesday within the Dugald River mine in Queensland when the ground broke way.
They plunged 25m into a void along with their utility car, a drill rig, and the drill rig operator.
The drill rig operator was able to flee and sound the alarm before receiving minor injury treatment.
The remains of Mr. Langridge and Mr. Davis were discovered following a “major” search operation at the mine near Cloncurry, according to Perenti, the international mining company that employed the two men.
“This is a devastating outcome and I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday,” chief executive Mark Nowell said on Thursday.
The two men were reported to be “fly-in, fly-out workers”, a common practice in parts of Australia where staff are flown temporarily to remote work sites.
Mr Langridge, 33, joined Barminco, a Perenti company, in March 2020, Perenti said. He began working at the Dugald River mine later that year.
Mr Davis, 36, had worked at the mine since November 2021 after joining the company a year earlier. Both worked as charge-up operators, the company said.
All operations at the zinc mine were suspended during the search, according to mine owner MMG.
Rescuers worked all night using heavy equipment to gain access to the utility vehicle, and on Thursday morning MMG general manager Tim Akroyd said a mission had begun to recover it from below.