Beaconsfield Mine collapse
At 9:26 p.m. (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on 25 April 2006, a small earthquake triggered an underground rockfall at the Beaconsfield gold mine in northern Tasmania.
Knight had been killed in the initial rockfall, but Webb and Russell were still alive, trapped in part of the vehicle in which they had been working at the time of the collapse, known as a teleloader or telehandler.
[5] The two men sang "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers (the only song they both knew) in order to keep up their spirits, as they waited for successive blasts to occur in the tunnel.
At about 5.45 pm on 30 April two rescuers, Pat Ball (the underground manager) and Steve Saltmarsh (the mine foreman) entered the 925 level to the rockfall and yelled out.
[10] Later, one rescuer found a direct route to the trapped miners, across the rubble in the side tunnel, and was able to get close enough to the basket of the telehandler to shake Russell's hand.
[9][11] Webb and Russell themselves did not want the rescuers to attempt to reach them through the rubble, because to do so would require them to cut through the wire on the side of the cage, which was under considerable pressure from the rock above.
They were also later sent a digital camera, a torch, dry clothes, magazines, iPods including music from the Foo Fighters and Kevin Bloody Wilson (upon request), deodorant and toothpaste.
Several hours work dismantling and removing the boring machine from the escape tunnel were required before the final phase of the rescue commenced.
[5] At 5:58 a.m. both men walked out of the lift cage unaided "... punching their fists in the air to the cheers of the Beaconsfield crowds who had gathered outside the mine gate.
Wearing their fluoro jackets and lit miner's helmets, the men switched their safety tags to 'safe' on the mine out board before embracing family members who rushed to hug them.
[30] Some comedians joked at the time that the reason why the rescue took so long was because cables and wires being used by broadcasters at the site were blocking the path.
When Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters heard of the miners' request to have the band's music sent down on MP3 players, he issued a personal message via fax to them indicating he would meet them for a beer.
[33] Grohl's note read, in part, "Though I'm halfway around the world right now, my heart is with you both, and I want you to know that when you come home, there's two tickets to any Foos show, anywhere, and two cold beers waiting for you.
In October 2006, one of the miners took up his offer, joining Grohl for a drink after the Foo Fighters' acoustic concert at the Sydney Opera House.
Since then, Foo Fighters have written an instrumental tribute song called "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners", appearing on their 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.
Ten News reported that the survivors were offered $3 million each, and Channel Nine boss Eddie McGuire attended the pub where the residents of Beaconsfield were celebrating the rescue.
During The Footy Show, they crossed live to a special event held in Beaconsfield where both miners appeared and were questioned by McGuire.
The Daily Telegraph revealed that the Nine Network secured a deal for $2.6 million, for a 2-hour special on the night of Sunday 21 May entitled "The Great Escape".
[37][38] The story was extended by the continued stream of media reports detailing the ordeal, such as Enough Rope with Andrew Denton's interview with one of the rescuers, Paul Featherstone.
[39] Adelaide band Unitopia recorded a single, "321" (often misquoted in the media as "321 Hours"), with Webb, Russell and their wives singing backing vocals.
[citation needed] The new title of the show was renamed to Beaconsfield: A Musical in No Particular Key in response to the media uproar over the initial name.
