The government of Tasmania state has ordered an independent inquiry into a gold mine collapse that killed one man and left two others trapped for 14 days nearly a kilometre underground. Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon yesterday said the investigation would be set up using state workplace health and safety laws following consultations with labour union officials and the Minerals Council. 'The government will consult with these two groups concerning the terms of reference and who is to conduct the inquiry,' he said. The struggle to free Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, from the Beaconsfield Gold Mine transfixed Australia and turned the pair into household names. The men, who survived 320 hours in a cramped steel safety cage under tonnes of rock, walked unaided from the mine before dawn on Tuesday after rescuers completed an escape shaft, hacking away the last few centimetres of rock with chisels. The two spent their first full day of freedom behind closed doors, but both miners are expected to appear tonight during a television special to raise money for the community. The probe announced yesterday will be the third into the disaster. A coroner will investigate the death of Larry Knight, crushed to death in the April 25 collapse that trapped Mr Webb and Mr Russell, and the country's chief inspector of mines, Fred Sears, also will hold an investigation. Workers and management maintained a fragile truce during the rescue, but the Australian Workers' Union has now shifted its focus to what caused the cave-in that killed 44-year-old Knight. Union national secretary Bill Shorten has dismissed management claims that the cave-in was caused by an earthquake. Miners were reportedly concerned by the management's failure to leave rock pillars in key tunnels, allegedly making the mine unstable. Ironically, the three miners involved in the collapse were shoring up the walls and roof of a tunnel deep inside the mine when the cave-in happened. Mike Lester, a public relations officer for the mine, said it would remain closed for at least a month while the investigations were carried out.
