Victorian coroner finds fatalities of workers in Ballarat trench collapse were avoidable

A Victorian coroner has determined that the fatalities of two men, who perished as a result of a trench collapse in Ballarat in 2018, could have been avoided.

The men died when a trench they were excavating in Winter Valley caved in on March 21, 2018.

During that period, the two individuals were involved in a site project for a civil construction firm.

The relatives of the two workers sought a coronial inquest in late 2018.

The primary emphasis of the inquest was to analyse the response to the rescue operation subsequent to the trench collapse.

Following a criminal case in 2023, the construction company was fined over $500,000 after a director admitted guilt in relation to a breach of workplace safety protocols.

The recent findings published by the Victorian coroner indicated there was no evidence to suggest that the decision made by emergency services to employ an excavator during the recovery process "caused or contributed" to the deaths of either individual.

Read the full story on the ABC News website.