A worker has died at a coalmine in central Queensland, the fourth mine-related death in the state in the past six months and the sixth in the past 12 months.

Emergency services were called to the Baralaba North mine in the Bowen Basin about 2am on Sunday but the man, 27, died at the scene.

The Queensland mines minister, Anthony Lynham, said on Sunday: “I am extremely distressed and concerned that there has been six mining and quarry worker deaths in the last 12 months.

“The loss of a life in any workplace at any time is not acceptable. Families should be able to expect that when their loved ones depart for work that they return safe.

“I will be following up on discussions held last week by meeting with representatives of the mining industry [as] a matter of urgency.

“I will be making it absolutely clear that this situation is unacceptable and requires action.”

The deaths have prompted an outcry from the Queensland mining union. The CFMEU’s state president, Stephen Smyth, told the ABC he believed there was a “safety crisis” in the industry and called for a temporary shutdown.

“It’s terrible, we’re sick of it … It’s a safety crisis,” he said. “We’ve been saying there needs to be a major safety reset.”

The latest death comes just over a week after a Mackay man, David Routledge, died when a wall collapsed while he was operating a digger at the Middlemount open-cut coalmine, northwest of Rockhampton.

Another worker died in an underground vehicle collision at a mine in Moranbah in February, and a fourth died in a rollover on New Year’s Eve at a mine near Dysart.