Two Miners Trapped 14 Days Underground Still Call Town Home

Brant Webb stands next to the yellow steel gate he walked through two decades ago, cracking jokes with tourists who still recognize him from one of Australia's most dramatic rescues.

On Anzac Day 2006, a minor earthquake triggered a rockslide deep in the Beaconsfield goldmine in Tasmania. The collapse killed miner Larry Knight and trapped Webb and Todd Russell in a cage 900 meters underground.

For 14 anxious days, the small town of 1,200 people held its breath. Rescue crews worked around the clock in dangerous conditions, knowing that one wrong move could bring tons of rock crashing down on the trapped miners.

Greg Crowden, part of the rescue team, remembers the moment they made contact. "Just to hear their voices, and having a chat, was just amazing," he said, recalling how his hair stood on end when he first spoke to his friend Webb through the rubble.

The complexity of the rescue stunned experts worldwide. Crews had to carefully remove rock without destabilizing the precarious pile holding back a potential avalanche while the trapped miners waited in darkness below.

On May 9, 2006, at dawn, Webb and Russell emerged with their arms raised high. The nation rejoiced as cameras captured them embracing their families in the frigid Tasmanian air.

The Ripple Effect

The rescue became a defining moment for Beaconsfield. Media from around the world descended on the tiny town, transforming it into the center of a story about human resilience and community strength.

Former mayor Barry Easther watched his town band together in extraordinary ways. Locals provided meals, beds, and prayers for rescue crews working nonstop to bring their neighbors home.

Now 57, Webb works as a house renovator and enjoys being a grandfather. He's processed the trauma with time, though he hasn't forgotten how close he came to death or the phenomenal rescuers who kept him and Russell alive.

Both men chose to stay in Beaconsfield despite becoming household names. They've found ways to give back to the community that never gave up on them.

Twenty years later, Webb still marvels at his second chance at life.