Authorities are racing to seal at least six shafts at the Grosvenor coal mine near Moranbah in central Queensland as a fire burns underground.
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00:00Plumes of smoke continued to billow behind me from the mine as authorities raced to seal
00:07at least six shafts at the burning Grosvenor coal mine in central Queensland.
00:13The inferno at Queensland's largest underground coal mine near Moorumbar is now in its fourth
00:19day.
00:21Methane gas ignited the underground blaze at the weekend, all workers were safely evacuated
00:27from the site which remains closed.
00:30Minor Anglo-American says positive steps have been taken overnight in the sealing process.
00:38The company says it's also working closely with local council to keep the close-knit
00:44community informed of the potential impact from smoke.
00:49The latest incident has triggered memories in the mining town of a similar methane explosion
00:55at the mine four years ago which left five workers severely burned.
01:01Specialist crews are working around the clock and face a complex and difficult task working
01:07with an unstable, hostile mine atmosphere.
01:11Anglo says there will be a time and place to turn its attention to investigating the
01:16source of the ignition.
01:19Right now the priority is sealing the mine as the community braces for further impacts
01:25with the future of the mine up in the air.