BEACONSFIELD MINE DISASTER 16 YEARS ON ‘I GOT A SECOND CHANCE... AND GRANDKIDS!'

Trapped a kilometre underground for 14 long days and nights, Brant thought he’d never see his wife and kids again

- Phillip Koch

Heroic miner Brant Webb, who captured the world’s attention all those years ago, is finally smiling again after spending years struggling to overcome PTSD, survivor guilt and anxiety following the Beaconsfield gold mine tragedy.

“You carry a lot of baggage,” explains Brant. “Anzac Day is a hard one for me. May 9 is my celebration, that’s the day I got out. We didn’t ever think we were going to get out. We thought the mine would cave in on us. To get out was a pretty big deal really.”

Brant, 53, is a man of few words, and even today plays down the pain and scars he still carries from that nightmare fortnight trapped underground in 2006 with fellow survivor and workmate Todd Russell, 50, in Beaconsfield, Tasmania.

But their survival was so extraordinary that the story of their miraculous rescue made news around the world. Oprah Winfrey wanted to interview them, and the Foo Fighters wrote a song about them.

One of their mates, Larry Knight, 44, was killed almost immediately in the initial rockfall, and 14 other miners managed to scramble to safety. Brant and Todd’s families also feared they were dead – until day six of the rescue.