Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) has released an animation recreating a near-fatal shuttle car incident, using the event to highlight the role emerging technologies can play in preventing serious injuries underground.
The animation reconstructs a December 2025 incident at a Central Queensland underground coal mine in which a shuttle car struck a worker and narrowly avoided running over him.
According to RSHQ, two workers were operating a continuous miner when the machine struck rib protection bollards and a ratchet strap along the tunnel wall.
The workers exited the machine to inspect the damage; however, the shuttle car operator was unaware they had changed positions and continued travelling towards the area to collect coal, striking one of the workers.
The worker was not seriously injured.
RSHQ acting general manager of operations Patrick Jensen said the regulator’s investigation into the incident identified multiple contributing factors the industry should be aware of to prevent similar occurrences, including the absence of proximity detection technology.
“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.”
The issues identified include inadequate communication, blind spots associated with shuttle cars, workers positioning themselves in hazardous areas and the absence of proximity detection or camera systems.
Jensen said the incident demonstrated how multiple factors can combine to create a potentially fatal situation.
“This was a serious incident, as the animation highlights, with several contributing factors,” he said.
Following the incident, RSHQ is urging senior site executives to assess shuttle car risks across development and bord-and-pillar operations and review critical controls for mobile equipment interactions.
The regulator also recommended mines establish blind-spot maps for mobile plant, integrate them into no-go zone systems and consider technologies such as proximity detection, camera systems and operation mode lights to improve operator awareness.
RSHQ further called on sites to reassess communication protocols when unplanned work is carried out in wheeling roads and review the timing and frequency of shuttle car warning alarms to ensure they can be clearly distinguished from other site alarms.
The body is also encouraging workers, site senior executives and mine operators to review the animation and accompanying safety alert to help identify similar risks and strengthen controls at their own operations.
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