Video: People rush for cover as giant rocks hurtle toward them in Australia blast
Newly released footage of a planned blasting incident in an Australia quarry revealed the moments before rocks the size of large watermelons went flying toward a team of workers involved with the event.
Bystanders recording the experience immediately rushed for cover as the hurtling rocks struck four vehicles during the April 2018 explosion in Albury, New South Wales, according to Storyful. All nine of the onlookers remained safe from the flying debris.
At the time of the incident, “those present at the firing location were too close to the blast area putting them at risk of being struck by flyrock,” according to a video report by the NSW Resources Regulator released Thursday.
Authorities said the sentries and blast guards were “not assigned or in place at the time of the blast,” and that the “correct type of explosive was not used in all blast holes.”
“It would have been very easy with that sort of debris being launched into the air for somebody to have been killed,” New South Wales Deputy Premier and Resources Minister John Barilaro, told local outlet Nine News.
Authorities were not notified of the circumstances of the blast until seven months later when original footage was shared, according to the outlet. A report revealed that the people who were at the event were asked to delete any videos they had.
Now, officials are considering charges, Nine News reported.
