Pike River Mine disaster

On 19 November 2010, an explosion in the mine occurred, with miners feared trapped at least 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) from the mine's entrance. The mine is around 160 metres (520 ft) below ground, but is primarily accessed horizontally. Two miners emerged with moderate injuries, but 29 miners were still located inside the mine. It was predicted it could be several days before the mine was safe enough for rescuers to enter, as the gases inside were feared to still be explosive. When a borehole was drilled into the area where the miners were thought to be, high levels of carbon monoxide and explosive methane gas were found and it appeared there was little chance of the finding the miners alive.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

At 2:37 PM NZDT on 24 November, a second explosion occurred, which was so severe that later that afternoon Peter Whittall (CEO of Pike River Coal Ltd) announced that it was extremely unlikely that any of the miners were still alive, as the magnitude of the second explosion and the high levels of toxic gases were too great for anyone to be able to survive.[18]

A third explosion occurred at 3:39 pm 26 November; it appeared to be smaller than the first two.


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