Emergency crews have been called to the collapse of two major wheat silos at Manildra’s factory at Bomaderry on the New South Wales South Coast.
Fire and Rescue NSW crews from Nowra, Moruya, Berry and Shellharbour responded to the incident at at the Manildra Group’s Shoalhaven Starches site about 10:30 on Thursday night.
Shellharbour station officer Darren Sullivan said thousands of tonnes of wheat had “collapsed into a big pile of mess”.
“It is a major operation,” he said.
“The silos back onto the edge of the Shoalhaven River and the collapse impacted a hydrant, with the water flow from the hydrant releasing wheat into the river.”
The collapse of the silos has put a third in jeopardy. (ABC Illwarra: Romy Gilbert)
Mr Sullivan said it was not clear how much wheat had gone into the waterway, but said it was “an inert product … as far as environmental impact goes”.
“It is not a hazardous chemical — it is a literally food product and that will be part of today’s investigation to see how the river is coping with that, and containing any other release,” he said.
NSW Fire and Rescue personnel on the Shoalhaven River last night. (Supplied: Fire and Rescue NSW)
Mr Sullivan said there were four major silos on the site, including the two that came down.
“I have been in the fire service for 30 years but this is the largest structural collapse I have seen in my time,” he said.
He said there was no clear indication as to what caused the silos to collapse.
Two major wheat silos at Manildra’s Bomaderry plant on the NSW South Coast have collapsed. (Supplied: Fire and Rescue NSW)
Concerns for third silo
Fire and Rescue duty commander Rick Jones said it appeared the silos collapsed on themselves.
“On arrival they found a 30-metre tall silo with 1,000 tonnes of grain had collapsed and had also fallen onto an adjacent silo with another 1,000 tonnes of grain, that had also collapsed,” he said.
“One of the silos has also fallen into the Shoalhaven River.”
Wheat has spilled across the plant and into the river after the collapse of the silos. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
Mr Jones said there were serious concerns about the stability of another silo.
“We have a third silo that has been impacted by the two that have collapsed,” he said.
“It is very twisted at its base, it has 500 tonne of grain in it, so that becomes a risk for structural collapse, so we have created exclusion zones.”
Crews are on the site this morning attempting repairs. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
Fire and Rescue is also working with maritime authorities to protect the river with navigation buoys also being deployed to prevent any boats being impacted.
The clean-up operation will involve drones and automated bobcats, which will allow safe access to the area.
Mr Jones said the focus would remain on ensuring the area was secure and determining the extent of any environmental damage.
“This will be a protracted incident — we’ve got crews from Shellharbour, heavy rescue from Wollongong, Berry, Shoalhaven and Nowra,” he said.
“Our sole objective at the moment is to render that silo that is damaged safe.”
Manildra and the NSW EPA will need to work on a plan to control or stop the flow of the wheat down the river. (ABC Illawarra: Kelly Fuller)
Million-dollar loss
Manildra is working with the EPA to develop a salvage plan to remove the grain from the river.
The flour mill has been closed down but two thirds of the plant remain operational.
SafeWork NSW said it had been notified of an incident.
It said inspectors had attended the scene and commenced an investigation.
Based on the weekly commodity report from NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development with the current cost of wheat at $365/tonne, the loss would be valued at about $1 million.
The Manildra plant processes more than 1 million metric tonnes of wheat every year, which is almost one-sixth of total annual production in NSW.
In a statement, the Manilda Group said its primary priority was the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees and the surrounding community:
“All employees are safe, with no injuries sustained. Emergency protocols and safety procedures were enacted immediately.
“Manildra Group is fully cooperating with Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW), and as a precaution, an exclusion zone has been established around the affected silos.
“A quantity of grain has spilled into the Shoalhaven River, and Manildra Group is actively working alongside SafeWork NSW and the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to address this.
“Our onsite team is working with structural engineers to assess the situation. We remain dedicated to upholding the highest standards of workplace health and safety for our employees and the Bomaderry community.”
