NZ mine ‘not yet safe for rescue’

Officials at a mine in New Zealand where 29 men are thought to be trapped say air tests have not yet shown it is safe for rescuer workers to enter.

Mine chiefs say they “remain positive” that the men will be found alive, and rescuers are ready to go in as soon as they are given the all-clear.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key said bringing the men out of the Pike River mine remained the top priority.

There has been no contact with the men since they were trapped on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference, regional police commander Gary Knowles said tests were being carried out on samples of gas taken from in and around the mine.

The tests have so far proved inconclusive and Mr Knowles said he was not prepared to send any of the volunteer rescuers into the mine until it was proved to be a safe environment.

He said they needed to balance the safety of the rescuers with the lives of those underground.

“We will still look for that window of opportunity to get underground and get those men out,” he said.

“We still remain positive and we believe that once that window of opportunity opens, we are ready to go.”

Mr Knowles refused to speculate on the men’s chances of survival.

“We don’t go on gut feelings – these are people’s lives. I’m not going to give a percentage to their families based on a gut feeling,” he said.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key, speaking at the same press conference, said his government was “doing what we can to make sure these 29 brave men are taken out of the mine and are here in one piece”.

“This is a time of huge anxiety for the families and for the miners, so our heart and thoughts go out to them,” he said.

“The big issue is balancing the rescue of the miners with the safety and security of those who undertake the operation. It’s a difficult time but we’re determined get them out alive.”

The explosion at the Pike River mine is believed to have happened at around 1530 local time (0230 GMT) on Friday.

The missing workers range in age from a 17-year-old – believed to be on his first shift – to a 62-year-old.

Most are New Zealanders but there are a number of Australian and British nationals among them, police said.

Pike River Mine chief executive Peter Whittall said the mine was relatively small, so the men would have been working close together.

Each miner carried 30 minutes of oxygen, enough to reach oxygen stores in the mine that would allow them to survive for several days.

Mr Whittall said there were also supplies of water underground and the temperature was about 25C.

He said that until the location of the missing men could be confirmed, the structure of the mine went it was not possible to send supplies down “with any certainty as to where it’s going”.

Two workers who walked out of the mine have been treated in hospital for moderate injuries but have since been discharged.

Officials said one of the men had been very disorientated when he emerged. The other was able to speak to officials and said he believed he had been knocked over by a blast, causing him to briefly lose consciousness.

The mine, which employs some 150 people, has been operational since 2008 and runs deep under the Paparoa Ranges on the rugged western coast of the South Island.

An electrician went into the mine at 1550 to investigate a power failure, and 1,500m (4,920ft) into the shaft he discovered the driver of a loader who had been blown off his machine. He then raised the alarm.

Mining experts said it could have been an explosion of methane gas, coal dust, or a combination of the two.

The last mining disaster to occur in the country was in 1967 at a mine called Strongman, close to Pike River, where an explosion killed 19 miners.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.