National Bravery Awards will be given to four miners who used low intensity explosives to reach their trapped co-workers during the 2006 Beaconsfield mine rescue in Tasmania.
The work of Scott Franklin, Darren Flanagan, Jeremy Rowlings and the late Brett Chalmers was instrumental in saving the lives of Todd Russell and Brant Webb who were trapped underground for 14 days after a rock fall event.
Speaking to the ABC, explosives technician Darren Flanagan said the world-first rescue method was nerve-racking.
“The first shot was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life, but it just got worse and worse with each blast because with each blast we just got closer and closer to their bodies,” he said.
“It was just like having one of your own children born, when those two boys come out, that’s how powerful that emotion was and that feeling,” he said.
Paramedic Nicholas Chapman also was announced as a bravery award recipient however he was quick to credit the miners as being the real heros.
“The miners were the ones that really put themselves at risk and they were on jackhammers all day and explosives,” he told the ABC.
The miners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony scheduled to take place next year.
What a load of rubbish. I spent 14 days working 14 -16 hours a day on the rescue team. The low impact explosives did help over the last couple of days but the air leg miners who took turns boring the holes and digging out the rock were the ones who did the real work. What a joke. No one knows what really went on except those of us who were right there the whole time. We were the ones talking to them, giving them their medication and food, their dry clothes, their protective equipment. Helped them grout and secure they surrounding rock around their cage. We were the ones who climbed down the stope under huge hanging rocks to identify their exact location. What risks did these guys take. All these so called heroes turned up later, charged a couple of holes to break some rock and now they are Brant and Todds saviours. Their work mates were their savours. They are the real heroes. Wake up people. You want to know more of the real story ask the people who were there the whole time. Who awarded these? Do they know what really happened? I am over this rubbish