Fears over poisonous and combustible gases were preventing rescuers from entering a coal mine in New Zealand where 29 men were missing after an explosion, police said yesterday.
A specialist mine rescue team was on standby at the Pike River colliery but would not go underground until tests confirmed there had been no buildup of gases in the wake of Friday’s blast, police commander Gary Knowles said.
There has been no contact with the men since the explosion at the remote mine, and Knowles said rescuers were hoping to swing into action by today, once air samples from the mine showed there was no gas.
“To date we have not had an opportunity to get underground ... as the search commander I’m not prepared to put people underground until we can prove it’s a safe environment,” he told reporters.
Reaching the miners as quickly as possible while ensuring no rescuers were hurt was “a fine balancing act,” Knowles said.
Mine owners said the potential danger from explosive methane and poisonous carbon monoxide was responsible for the delay.
They continued to hold out hope the missing men were alive, although Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn conceded “every hour that goes by, it gets more dire.”
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said every effort was being made to reach the miners, who range in age from a 17-year-old, believed to be on his first shift, to a 62-year-old.
“It’s a difficult time for everyone, but we’re determined to get the men out alive,” he said.
Key said expressions of support had poured in from around the world, including a personal e-mail from Britain’s Prince William saying his heart and thoughts went out to the miners.
Police said the missing miners included two Australians, two Britons and a South African. They are thought to be only about 150m from the surface, but 2.5km from the mine entrance in a tunnel that runs beneath the Paparoa mountain range to the coal seam.
Special equipment was flown in from Australia to test gas levels in the mine, and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said her government would meet any requests for assistance.
Britain also offered to help, with Foreign Secretary William Hague saying: “It is a very worrying situation and we will do our utmost to assist.”
Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall said fresh air was being pumped into the mine and it was possible the miners had reached a place of safety.
“It’s quite conceivable they are sitting around the end of an open pipe waiting and wondering why we are taking our time to get them out,” he said.
As night fell, the monitoring of gas levels at the mine stopped although rescuers and health workers remained on standby, Sky News reported.
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