An autonomous Rio Tinto train hit a set of stationary wagons about 80 kilometres outside Karratha, Western Australia, just after midnight on 13 May, damaging 22 wagons and three locomotives, reported ABC News.
There were no reported injuries, but Mining and Energy Union Secretary Greg Busson said five staff who were further down the line working on the stationary equipment narrowly escaped harm.
“[They were working] in the dark in an isolated area, and even though they were a bit away from where the incident happened they were still at risk and it’s obviously shaken them,” he said.
ABC News said the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (has launched an investigation and said it received a report about a collision between a loaded ore train and a recovery train.
“The recovery train is reported to have collided with the ore train it was sent to recover after it was disabled by a mechanical failure,” a spokesman said, noting that the investigation would focus on the operation of and adherence to signaling systems in the area.
This is the second Rio Tinto derailment in the Pilbara this year and the third in the past 12 months.
Source: ABC News