70 men rescued after fire in shaft at Tara Mines

A comprehensive investigation has been promised into a fire at Tara Mines in Navan, Co Meath, yesterday after 70 miners had to be rescued.

The company's public relations manager, Mr Colm Conaghy, said there would be a "comprehensive investigation" into what had happened, as was the case with all accidents at the plant, large and small.

Rescuers spent seven hours bringing the workers to safety after a 50-tonne truck caught fire in the mine shaft.

Emergency services and Our Lady's Hospital in Navan were placed on standby but no-one was hurt during the rescue operation, which was completed at about 9 p.m. Management at the plant, which is the largest zinc mine in Europe, said no-one had been in danger at any stage.

The alarm was raised at about 2 p.m. when the truck caught fire, giving off smoke. When the company's emergency procedure was implemented 27 men managed to escape almost immediately.

The 70 miners remaining underground gathered at refuge stations where they received a good air supply and had access to other services. The trapped miners were then brought to the surface in pick-up trucks a few at a time. The company hopes to have the mine back in production today.

Mr Conaghy said it appeared that the fire had started in the engine of the truck and spread to the front tyres. The vehicle had burnt itself out by about 8 p.m.

Mr Conaghy denied reports that the miners were trapped because the truck was blocking an exit. There were a number of exit routes from the mines which had between 35 and 40 miles of road.

"It was simply considered safer for the men to remain in the refuge stations until the smoke cleared, to prevent any possibility of smoke inhalation."

The rescue operation was carried out by three internally-trained mine-rescue teams. Ambulance services were on stand-by but no outside assistance was ultimately required, Mr Conaghy said.

"There was no panic. Everybody reacted in the proper way." He added that none of the men required medical treatment and the company's emergency procedure had "worked perfectly".

The rescued miners had begun their shifts yesterday at 8 a.m. and would have been due to finish at 4 p.m. However, Mr Conaghy stressed 12-hour shifts were normal at the mine so it was not unusual for the men to be underground for that length of time.

The Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, said he was relieved the incident had not ended in tragedy. He was delighted the 70 men had been brought to safety. "As the Minister with responsibility for mining, I was extremely concerned when news of the incident broke."

The resources of the Irish Marine Emergency Service were offered in the event of its assistance being required. The company's first-aid team and doctor were also placed on stand-by for the duration of the operation.

Meanwhile, fire-tenders from Navan, Kells and Trim were called out late last night to deal with a fire which broke out in an unused building behind the St Lawrence Hotel in Market Square, Navan. Gardai said nobody was injured.