On June 13, 1989, six men lost their lives in a decline driven underground from the bottom of an open pit, as the result of sudden flooding of the pit following sustained and exceptionally heavy rainfall at the Emu Mine Leinster, Western Australia.
On the day of the disaster, because of the heavy rains, this particular pit (which was a smaller one adjacent to the larger pit) commenced to accumulate water. The mining crew made preparation to vacate the decline, and all major equipment was withdrawn.
As water began to overflow the narrow neck of ground between the two pits, a mining crew of five re-entered the decline in a large front-end loader to retrieve a pump. As they did so, the neck of ground separating the pits began to erode rapidly, vastly increasing the rate of water flow into the smaller pit. The Manager, seeing this, drove into the pit to withdraw the men. Whilst he was in the decline, the water flow became overwhelming, and the total pit and decline was flooded, drowning the men.
Initially, some hope existed that they might have been caught in an air pocket, so Police divers were dispatched from Perth. Four divers risked their lives by diving into the pit and decline in the hope of finding the miners alive. By entering the decline they faced extreme danger from floating gear and ropes.
