An ‘experienced’ electrician was killed when he was trapped by the blades of a badly guarded fan in an underground mine.
Colin Thwaites, 61, was inspecting storm damage to Lochaline Quartz Sand Limited’s mine in the Highlands when an apprentice found him fatally wounded.
Mr Thwaites was fatally struck by the blades of a fan circulating air through Europe’s only underground quartz mine which wasn’t well-guarded, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.
He had arrived for his day shift to help restore power following damage caused by Storm Ashley on October 21, 2024.
He was working alongside an apprentice to disconnect a communications cable near one of the mine’s BORA fans when he was sucked into the blades.
His colleague found him trapped in the fan, having suffered fatal injuries.
Explosives are used at the Lochaline mine, which has operated since 1940 in the rolling hills and icy lochs of the Morvern Peninsula.
The mine produces silica sand of ‘exceptional quality’: very low in iron and very white, a material particularly suitable for the production of energy-efficient glass.
HSE inspectors found significant areas of mesh were missing and wire showed heavy corrosion on their broken ends meaning they were not freshly broken by coming into contact with Mr Thwaites.
An HSE investigation found a series of ‘serious failings’ in how the fan had been modified, commissioned and maintained.
When inspectors examined the fan the day after the incident, the intake guard was found to be in a seriously degraded condition.
Had the guard been properly designed and maintained, HSE said it is likely it would have prevented the fatal incident.
‘This was a tragic and entirely preventable death,’ Kevin Wilson, HSE’s chief inspector of mines and quarries, said.
‘Colin Thwaites was a highly-experienced mining professional with decades of service. He should have gone home to his family that day.
‘Our investigation found that when the fan was modified, the risks were not identified.
‘The guarding that was put in place was inadequate from the outset and its deteriorating condition went unnoticed because there was no proper maintenance regime in place.’
He continued: ‘Mine operators have clear legal duties to ensure equipment is safely commissioned and maintained. Where those duties are not met, the consequences can be fatal.’
Lochlaine Quartz Sand Limited, of European Technical Centre, Hall Lane, Lathom, in Ormskirk, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) and section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £150,000 and told to pay a victim surcharge of £11,250 at Inverness Sheriff Court on June 16 this year.