Death
Carleton had experienced a number of health scares, the first in 1988 when he underwent heart bypass surgery, which was nationally televised, and another in 2003 when he suffered a heart attack. In 2005 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
On 7 May 2006, Carleton collapsed from a massive heart attack during a press conference at the Beaconsfield gold mine, shortly after questioning mine manager Matthew Gill on previous safety issues at the site. His last words were:
| “ | On 26 October last year, not 10 metres from where these men are now entombed, you had a 400-tonne rock fall. Why is it, is it the strength of the seam, or the wealth of the seam, that you continue to send men into work in such a dangerous environment?. | ” |
First-hand reports from the scene indicated that Carleton had a weak pulse when taken by ambulance to the Launceston General Hospital and that he had been puffing and gasping not long before he collapsed. Carleton died at 2:12 p.m, in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
In the telemovie about the accident, Beaconsfield, Carleton was played by Steve Vizard.
Read more about this topic: Richard Carleton
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“If I can, I shall keep my death from saying anything that my life has not already said.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“Nature creates while destroying, and doesn’t care whether it creates or destroys—as long as life isn’t extinguished, as long as death doesn’t lose its rights.”
—Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (1818–1883)
“Those near death speak with sincere hearts.”
—Chinese proverb.
Confucian Analects.