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UPDATED: Clean-up continues after Bomaderry silo collapse

Emma Alsop October 18, 2024

Work continues to clean up grain which spilled out of two collapsed silos at Manildra’s Bomaderry site. Photo: FRNSW

CREWS remain on site at Manildra Group’s Bomaderry facility four days after two silos collapsed last Thursday night.

Fire and Rescue New South Wales teams that were called to the factory at about 10pm were confronted with two 1000-tonne collapsed silos spilling grain into the Shoalhaven River.

A third 500t silo had also been compromised and was being monitored.

The event prompted the evacuation of approximately 65 workers, with no injuries recorded.

In a statement, FRNSW said crews were on site to aid in the clean-up and to monitor the situation.

“Firefighters are monitoring the situation and utilising specialist RPAS (drones) operators and laser-movement detectors to provide ongoing situational awareness for incident commanders,” the statement said.

“Exclusion zones are still in place and work is continuing to remove grain from the impacted silos.

“Operations are anticipated to continue for the next 24 to 48 hours.”

Alongside FRNSW, SafeWork NSW and the NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as salvage teams, structural engineers, and facility personnel are working to manage and clean up the incident.

A spokesperson for SafeWork NSW said the organisation was working closely with FRNSW, which remained in control of the site.

“SafeWork NSW inspectors have attended the site and have commenced an investigation, and our enquiries remain ongoing,” the spokesperson said.

In a statement, the Manildra Group said it was “working alongside Fire and Rescue NSW to remove the grain from the affected silos”.

Australian Workers Union NSW secretary Tony Callinan said the organisation hoped the facility could return to full operations as soon as possible.

He said several hundred workers at the site were also AWU members.

“Our organisers and delegates have been working with the company to make sure everything is safe,” Mr Callinan said.

“They are a pretty good employer and a large local employer in the area and they are pretty responsible.

“We have a pretty good relationship with them, and they have pretty good systems in place, and we work through any issues with them.

“It’s not great timing…I assume it will interrupt production on-site for a period while they get the mess cleaned up and the silos rebuilt.

“Hopefully they can get it done pretty quickly and can get back to normal work on the site.”

A NSW EPA spokesperson today advised the agency was working alongside FRNSW and SafeWork NSW to respond to the incident.

“Our investigation into the incident is ongoing and there are no further updates at this stage,” the NSW EPA spokesperson said.

 

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