Families of three men killed in a Beetaloo Valley explosion were last night one step closer to finding out how it happened.
This came after the State Government laid charges against an explosives
company over the blast at its factory on May 9, 2006.
“For two years we have never blamed anyone because we couldn’t. We didn’t know what caused it,” said Garry Harris whose son Damian died in the incident.
“If the charges are proven, I guess we will be bloody angry about it … I don’t know if angry is the word. I don’t know what it is.”
Mr Harris, of Gladstone, said today the families had known that any charges had to be laid within two years of the incident.
“We welcome the fact that hopefully we are going to find out what caused it,” he said.
He said “tension” had been building as the deadline approached for any charges to be laid.
Damian Harris, 30, Matthew Keeley, 22, and Darren Millington, 41, all “favorite sons” of the Southern Flinders Football Club, were killed in the blast at the
explosives factory where they worked.
The football community, both in Adelaide and the Mid North, has kept in touch with family members since the disaster.
The families, who are trying to cope with the agony of not knowing how the incident happened, are expected to hold a two-year memorial soon.
Yesterday, SafeWork SA lodged a
complaint against Quin Investments in the Magistrates Court – Industrial Offences Jurisdiction.
Charges have also been laid against the company’s responsible officer, Nik Kuzub.
The court document cites five counts relating to the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act and one count relating
to the Responsible Officer laws.
It is alleged that the company failed to provide and maintain a safe working
environment and failed to provide and maintain its machinery in a safe condition.
The maximum penalty for each offence is $100,000 because the incident happened before penalties were increased this year.
Mr Harris said the latest development “opened old wounds”, but he would
probably attend the court hearings, likely to start next month.
In the aftermath of the blast, Southern Flinders president Geoff Brand said the victims would “never be forgotten”.