Workers attempting to seal underground coal mine as fire burns our of control

Burning for three days. Smoke continues to pour from the underground Grove in a coal mine at Moranbah. We're blessed the fact that no one was injured. Methane gas was ignited on Saturday morning. All workers were safely evacuated from the site, which remains closed. Look, it's a dynamic situation. It's going to evolve over the course of the next few days and weeks and and months. Right now, our priority is safely bringing that mine under control. The Grivenham mine opened in 2016. With an expected lifespan of more than 30 years. But the mine has a troubled past. In 2020, a methane explosion left five workers severely burned. Many are now asking how could this happen again? Donna, I'm lost for words. Unfortunately for some of them, this is the second time. No one should ever experience it once, let alone twice. Crews are working to seal the mine and smother the underground blaze, a decision which could put the mine out of operation. For a considerable amount of time, N Kenyalla, which is up the road, had a similar rent. It took him nearly four years to get back into that mine, to get back to mining. There are growing fears the Gravener mine may be closed permanently. Well, the Salt Place will start to feel the real effect of it. It's not good. Not good at all, mate. Very emotional. I do know that workers are really mourning the idea of this coal mine being sealed permanently. The safety of the local community is not believed to be at risk from the smoke. With nearby air quality monitors returning a good reading, all of the expert advice at the moment is that's not currently A cause for concern. A community left to monitor the environmental impact as they wait to see if they'll be dealt an economic blow.