the aussie spirit

Back in April of 2006, the Beaconsfield Mine, in Tasmania, collapsed

17 people were in the mine at the time

14 got out straight away

One miner, Larry Knight, was killed in the initial rock fall

Larry was a husband, a Dad, and only 44 years old

2 other miners, Brant Webb & Todd Russell, were unaccounted for

Five days after the collapse, thermal imaging cameras & microphones found them

They were alive

Their location was hazardous for rescuers to reach, without risking another rock fall

Brant & Todd were trapped in the basket of a telehandler

Rescue workers worked tirelessly and slowly

In the meantime, the boys were given supplies through a small hole

Fresh water, food & communication equipment

Later, they were also given a digital camera, torch, clothes, magazines, deodorant & toothpaste

One thing they specifically asked for was an iPond

With music from the Foo Fighters & Dad, Kevin Bloody Wilson on it

Word got back to Dad that the boys had requested some of his stuff

He, along with the rest of the country, was glued to his TV, waiting for news on the rescuer’s progress

Shit, even in Chicago I was seeing it all unfold on CNN

The trapped miners wrote letters to their families from their ‘cage’ underground

Todd Russell, his sense of humour obviously still in tact, wrote to his wife Carolyn; “It’s not much of a room we have here”

He  also asked for the weekend’s newspaper, so that he could look for a new job

Funny fucker, no?

After 14, no doubt grueling, long nights, the rescuers finally reached Brant & Todd

At 5:58am, May 9th – TWO WHOLE WEEKS (that’s over THREE HUNDRED HOURS!!) after the collapse

Brant Web & Todd Russell walked out of the lift cage, unaided

They were greeted by the roaring cheers of the Beaconsfield crowds who had gathered outside the mine site gates

And their wives & kids were waiting there too, their nightmare finally over

The death of Larry Knight is such a tragedy

But those two blokes walking out of that hole in one piece, is as much of a miracle as I’m ever likely to see

For them, it was a happy ending to a horror story

The boys went on to write a BOOK about their ordeal

They got to meet the Foo Fighters

AND have the Foo Fighters write a song about them

[YOUTUBE]8xkFsVMBVFk[/YOUTUBE]

And something else cool about this story?

Dad made a new friend

Who we get to catch up with whenever we come to Tassie

Todd & his wife Carolyn (above in the middle) are just seriously lovely people

And yeah, he really IS a funny fucker