'The person I became after being stuck underground was a monster': Shocking new footage of Brant Webb and Todd Russell trapped in the Beaconsfield mine as the men recall the disaster that still haunts them

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Shocking footage of two men covered in rubble and trapped almost a kilometre underground after a mine collapse has emerged as they open up about how the traumatic event has shaped their lives.

Brant Webb and Todd Russell spent 14 days confined in a small cage at Beaconsfield mine, in Tasmania, following a rock collapse that claimed the life of their friend and colleague Larry Knight in April 2006. 

In the days following the collapse, before the two men were discovered in a small pocket of rubble, both their wives said they did not give up hope that their husbands would return home.

But what they didn't know then is that the two men who returned would never be the same again.

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Brant Webb and Todd Russell spent 14 days confined in a small cage at Beaconsfield mine, in Tasmania, following a rock collapse that claimed the life of their friend and colleague in 2006

After their release, neither of the two men anticipated just how profoundly the experienced changed their lives

Mr Webb was plagued with guilt after surviving the collapse his close friend perished in and found himself consumed by rage and paranoia. 

It wasn't until some time after the incident, following a work place conflict, that he started having problems with aggression and felt as if he was losing control. 

But instead of lashing out he decided to take control and found salvation on the water and in gardening. 

'The white noise in your head is horrific and the depression starts and you can actually see it starting but you cant pull it up,' he told 60 Minutes.

'The white noise in your head is horrific and the depression starts and you can actually see it starting but you cant pull it up,' Mr Webb said 

In the days following the collapse, before the two men were discovered in a small pocket of rubble, they spent hours agoniing 

Mr Webb was plagued with guilt after surviving the collapse his close friend perished in and found himself consumed by rage and paranoia

While it felt natural to push his fears and frustrations aside, Mr Webb instead sought help and started talking to 'everyone' about the event which he said brought him some peace

'The anger was so bad that I said to Rach at one point I might have to set you up for six months and go down south because I don’t know what’s happening. I'm not in control anymore.' 

While it felt natural to push his fears and frustrations aside, Mr Webb instead sought help and started talking to 'everyone' about the event which he said brought him some peace.

'If you want to hang on to the worst, that’s up to you. But if you want to brush it aside you start talking about it,' he said. 

'I talked to everyone, worked for me. Wish Todd would have done it earlier,' he added. 

Mr Russell went in a very different direction and has only recently finished treatment after finally seeing someone to talk about the mental scars he earned contemplating his own death at the bottom of the mine shaft.

Mr Russell went in a very different direction and has only recently finished treatment after finally seeing someone to talk about the mental scars he earned contemplating his own death at the bottom of the mine shaft

Mr Russell's wife Carolyn said battling with the depression and post traumatic stress disorder almost destroyed their once happy family

'You're covered in rock. You can't move... But not knowing how much time you've got, how much rock's on top of you, that was probably the hardest,' Mr Russell told 60 Minutes

'You're covered in rock. You can't move... But not knowing how much time you've got, how much rock's on top of you, that was probably the hardest,' Mr Russell told 60 Minutes.  

Mr Russell's wife Carolyn said battling with the depression and post traumatic stress disorder almost destroyed their once happy family.  

'He was really different when he came out. He couldn't handle any noises and he'd get really angry,' Mr Russell's wife Carolyn said. 

She explained that he would yell at their three children - Trent, Maddy and Liam -  when they were noisy, something he never did before the collapse. 

'Some of the things that he’d say to them you shouldn’t say to your own kids,' she added.

Mrs Russell said things got so bad that she packed her bags and told him that she was leaving with the children, which was the 'reality check' Mr Russell said he needed. 

She explained that he would yell at their three children - Trent(right), Maddy(centre) and Liam (left) - when they were noisy, something he never did before the collapse

The Beaconsfield mine has since been closed and turned into a museum 

'Half the time I didn't know I was doing it. Everybody could see the direction I was taking but me.'  

'There were friends who were putting their hand out to offer the help and I elected to do it my own way.'

Mr Russell said he thought he was coping and had no idea the affect his changed demeanor was having on his family. 

'The person I became after being stuck underground was a monster,' he said. 

He soon made a vow that he would get the help he needed and has not looked back. 

'I can tell you now, it doesn’t make you any less of a man, it doesn’t make you any less of a woman to go and seek help. It’s the best thing you can do.'

'Who knows if I hadn’t have gone what direction I could have taken?'