A massive explosion deep inside a New Zealand coal mine yesterday erased hopes of rescuing 29 miners caught underground by a similar blast five days ago. The country’s prime minister declared it a national tragedy.
Even if any of the missing men had survived the initial explosion on Friday at the Pike River Mine, police said none could have lived through the second. Both blasts were believed caused by explosive, toxic gases swirling in the tunnels dug up to 2km into a mountain that had also prevented rescuers from entering the mine to search for the missing.
“There was another massive explosion underground, and based on that explosion no one would have survived,” said police superintendent Gary Knowles, in charge of the rescue operation. “The blast was prolific, just as severe as the first blast.”
The news devastated families who — buoyed by the survival tale of Chile’s 33 buried miners — had clung to hope for more than five days that their relatives could emerge alive.
“New Zealand has been devastated by the news that we have all been dreading,” New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said in a nationally televised news conference. “This is a national tragedy.”
PARLIAMENT
He said flags would fly at half staff today and parliament would adjourn its session in respect for the dead men.
Officials said only investigations still to come would confirm the exact cause of yesterday’s explosion.
Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall said rescue teams were not doing anything that could have set it off, and conditions inside the mine were such it could have happened at any time.
“It was a natural eventuation, it could have happened on the second day, it could have happened on the third day,” he told reporters.
Family members who gathered for a regular daily briefing on the rescue operation’s progress were instead told of the second blast and that no one could survive. Whittal said he began by telling them a team had been getting ready to go underground.
Some people — thinking a rescue was about to start — broke into applause before he could finish telling them about the latest blast.
“I had to wait till they stopped clapping to tell them ... that the second explosion occurred,” he said.
ANGER
Tony Kokshoorn, the mayor of Greymouth town near the mine, who was at the meeting, said some of the relatives collapsed. Others shouted at police in anger.
“It is our darkest day,” Kokshoorn told reporters later.
Laurie Drew, father of 21-year-old miner Zen, said rescuers should have gone into the mine on Friday, saying he believed that explosion would have burned off most of the dangerous gases.
“They had their window of opportunity that Friday night, and now the truth can’t come out because no one alive will be able to come out and tell the truth about what went on down there,” Drew said.
“The only thing that’s going to make matters worse is if we find ... out that people were alive after that first blast,” he said.
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