About 5 chocks from the tailgate the knocking became worse and it was obvious the goaf was going to come down.
He panicked and ran off !
He was in a really bad state and you could see the fear in him. We sat him down further outbye and calmed him down. The sweat was pouring out of him and he was breathing very heavy. Once we got him composed we made our way out.
We were nearly at the board end when the goaf fell so we were safely out of the way although you still get a feel of it.
First you lose your hearing, and then the pressure hits you, whipping all the dust up.
Then the draught goes back over your back into the face. A strange feeling and unnerving even in a safe place.
The force of air is caused by the roof coming down and pushing the air down the gates, however a vacuum is caused above the fallen stone so the air rushes back in to fill the void.
He will certainly not forget the experience !
This big strapping lad who was laughing and joking at the start was in sheer panic at the end.
You never totally get used to it and I have been scared by it several times.
This is one of the reasons why I don't like taking people down, you don't know how they are going to react. |
