Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) today released an animation reconstructing a near-fatal shuttle car incident at a Central Queensland underground coal mine, aiming to educate the resources industry on factors that can lead to fatal incidents and the technology available to help prevent them.
The animation depicts a December 2025 incident in which a shuttle car struck a coal mine worker, narrowly avoiding running him over.
RSHQ’s Acting General Manager of Operations, Patrick Jensen, said the investigation into the incident identified several contributing factors that industry should be aware of in order to prevent similar occurrences in the future, including the absence of proximity detection technology at the site.
“Proximity detection systems are already being used successfully by several mines in Queensland to mitigate shuttle car risks, and we strongly urge all sites to consider applying this technology in their operations,” Jensen said.
“Incidents like this have killed workers in Australia and here in Queensland.”
According to the investigation, two workers were underground operating a continuous miner during the December incident when the machine struck the rib protection bollards and a ratchet strap on the side of the mine tunnel.
The workers then left the vehicle to inspect the damage caused by the collision.
However, the shuttle car driver was not aware that the two workers had changed positions and proceeded to travel towards them to collect coal as part of normal operations, striking one of the workers in the process.
The worker was fortunate not to sustain any serious injuries as a result.
RSHQ’s animation warns that communication failures, blind spots, and missing proximity detectors can turn routine mining work into a life-threatening event. pic.twitter.com/0Eg4oQWI5v
— Resources Review (@ResourcesReview) June 23, 2026
Jensen encourages workers, site senior executives, and operators across Queensland’s mining sector to review both the animation and the accompanying Safety Alert in order to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring at their own sites.
“This was a serious incident, as the animation highlights, with several contributing factors,” said Jensen.
“Key issues included inadequate communication, the absence of proximity detection systems or camera systems, blind spots of shuttle cars and workers placing themselves in the line of fire.
“This incident serves as a critical example for industry to learn from, helping reduce risk and prevent serious harm or loss of life in Queensland’s resources sector.”
The release of the animation forms part of RSHQ’s broader efforts to improve safety outcomes across the state’s resources sector through education and the sharing of lessons learned from real-world incidents.
By visually reconstructing how the incident unfolded, RSHQ aims to give mine operators and workers a clearer understanding of the chain of events that can lead to serious harm, even when individual factors might seem minor in isolation.
The case highlights a combination of issues that are not unique to this single mine site: communication breakdowns between machine operators and ground crew, limited visibility from shuttle car cabins, and the absence of technology that could automatically detect a person in a vehicle’s path.
RSHQ‘s safety alert encourages sites to assess these same risk factors in their own operations, particularly where proximity detection or camera systems have not yet been installed.
RSHQ has urged all Queensland mining operations to treat the incident as a timely reminder to reassess existing safety protocols, invest in proven technologies where gaps exist, and reinforce safe behaviours among workers operating in proximity to heavy mobile machinery underground.
