Beaconsfield mine disaster survivor Brant Webb has revealed that he “never liked” fellow trapped miner Todd Russell, making the admission two days after Russell’s death.
Russell died at his home on Monday night, aged 54, after battling leukaemia for more than a year.
In 2006, Russell and Webb spent 14 days buried alive after a 2.2-magnitude earth tremor triggered a rockfall inside the mine, leaving them trapped 900m underground.
Two days after Russell’s death, Webb spoke about his long-held feelings towards his former workmate during an interview with Robert McKnight on McKnight Tonight on Wednesday.
When McKnight asked whether he liked Russell, the former miner replied: “No, not really.”
Webb said the pair did not hate each other, but they frequently disagreed and had never been particularly close.
“We didn’t have anything in common at all, really. The only thing we had in common was we stayed in the hole for two weeks together,” he told McKnight.
“We didn’t hate each other, we just didn’t see eye-to-eye. We had different views on life, what we were doing and where we were going.”
Beaconsfield mine disaster survivor Brant Webb told McKnight Tonight that he “never liked” fellow survivor Todd Russell
Webb said the pair shared nothing in common apart from spending two weeks trapped together during the 2006 Beaconsfield mine disaster
Webb said he ultimately formed a stronger relationship with Russell’s family than he did with his former mining colleague.
After the interview, Webb sent a message to the programme saying he felt relieved to have finally spoken openly about his feelings towards Russell.
“I feel a weight has lifted, 20 years of keeping a secret for a bloke that didn’t respect me,” he wrote.
Despite their differences, the pair established the Russell-Webb Legacy Foundation, a charity that supports young people experiencing homelessness, as well as local charities in Beaconsfield and across Tasmania.
Russell spent eight and a half months at Launceston General Hospital undergoing treatment for leukaemia.
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Less than a week before his death, Russell wrote on social media that his doctors had no further treatment options to offer.
“After years of pain, uncertainty, appointments, treatments, setbacks and endless battles, plus the emotional exhaustion of having to pick myself up time and time again, [they] have left me with nothing left to give,” he said.
“The time has come, medically and [physically], where there are no further options on either front for me and there is no more fight left in me.
Webb revealed his long-held feelings towards his workmate two days after Russell died following his battle with leukaemia
In 2006, Russell and Webb, pictured emerging from the mine, spent 14 days buried alive after a 2.2-magnitude earth tremor caused a rockfall, trapping them 900m underground
Following a delicate two-week rescue operation, the pair famously emerged from the mine pumping their fists before being reunited with their families
“I will leave hospital tomorrow after eight and a half months for the last time, to see out my days in my own home surrounded by my wife, kids, loved ones and friends.”
Russell and Webb had been working in a steel cage at the end of a teleloader at the Beaconsfield mine in northeast Tasmania on the night of April 25, 2006.
Shortly before 9.30pm, a 2.2-magnitude tremor caused an underground rockfall, trapping the pair 900m below the surface.
The men were feared dead after the body of a third miner, Larry Knight, who had been driving the work vehicle, was found in the rubble two days after the earthquake.
Hope of finding Russell and Webb alive began to fade. However, the pair were located four days after the collapse, having survived on a single muesli bar and groundwater.
Following a painstaking two-week rescue operation, the men emerged from the mine to worldwide attention and were reunited with their families.
Webb paid tribute to Russell on Tuesday, telling ABC NewsRadio that the pair were “always bumping into each other”.
“I’m very sorry to hear the news about Todd. My thoughts are with his kids and loved ones at this difficult time,” he said.
“I work 100 metres from his house… But for the last eight months I sort of hadn’t had much to do with him because he’s been in hospital.”