27 missing in New Zealand mine explosion
Source: Agencies |
November 20, 2010, Saturday
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A GAS explosion ripped through one of New Zealand's largest coal mines while dozens of workers were underground. Five of them, dazed and slightly injured, stumbled to the surface hours later, and 27 were missing.
Police said that shortly before the blast at 3:45pm the electricity went out in the mine, which may have caused ventilation problems. That may have contributed to a buildup of gas underground.
Rescue teams were waiting for word that it was safe to enter.
Television footage showed blackened and singed trees and light smoke billowing from the top of a mountain where a 110-meter-long ventilation shaft emerges. A nearby hut had been blown down, suggesting a powerful blast had shot up the shaft from deep in the mine.
Police said there could still be pockets of explosive methane gas in the mine, and air quality tests were under way in the ventilation shaft. The power outage was complicating efforts to pump fresh air into the mine and make it safe for rescuers to enter.
"They're itching to get in there and start looking for other people and a bit frustrated at having to stand and wait," said police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn. "There is concern that ventilation inside the mine shaft may be compromised by the power outage."
Specialist teams were preparing for a rescue bid today at the mine, located in rugged mountains near Atarau on New Zealand's South Island. But Tony Kokshoorn, mayor of nearby Greymouth who visited the mine, said it could be days before it was safe enough for them to enter.
"We are holding on to hope," he told reporters.
John Dow, chairman of the mine operator Pike River Coal Ltd, said each miner carried 30 minutes of oxygen supply - enough to reach oxygen stores in the mine that he said would allow them to survive for "several days."
The coal seam at the mine is reached through a 2.3-kilometer horizontal tunnel that bores into the mountain toward the seam, which lies about 200 meters beneath the surface. According to the company's website, the ventilation shaft rises108 meters from the tunnel to the surface.
Kokshoorn said it was unclear at what depth the explosion happened but that the blast was very large.
Peter Whittall, chief executive of Pike River Coal Ltd, said 27 people were missing. Five workers walked out of the mine two to three hours after the blast. The first two included the machine operator who was blown off his vehicle 1.5 kilometers into the access tunnel. Three more came out later. One of the men was able to make a call on his cell phone.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said: "The government has told the company it will provide any support that is required."
Police said that shortly before the blast at 3:45pm the electricity went out in the mine, which may have caused ventilation problems. That may have contributed to a buildup of gas underground.
Rescue teams were waiting for word that it was safe to enter.
Television footage showed blackened and singed trees and light smoke billowing from the top of a mountain where a 110-meter-long ventilation shaft emerges. A nearby hut had been blown down, suggesting a powerful blast had shot up the shaft from deep in the mine.
Police said there could still be pockets of explosive methane gas in the mine, and air quality tests were under way in the ventilation shaft. The power outage was complicating efforts to pump fresh air into the mine and make it safe for rescuers to enter.
"They're itching to get in there and start looking for other people and a bit frustrated at having to stand and wait," said police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn. "There is concern that ventilation inside the mine shaft may be compromised by the power outage."
Specialist teams were preparing for a rescue bid today at the mine, located in rugged mountains near Atarau on New Zealand's South Island. But Tony Kokshoorn, mayor of nearby Greymouth who visited the mine, said it could be days before it was safe enough for them to enter.
"We are holding on to hope," he told reporters.
John Dow, chairman of the mine operator Pike River Coal Ltd, said each miner carried 30 minutes of oxygen supply - enough to reach oxygen stores in the mine that he said would allow them to survive for "several days."
The coal seam at the mine is reached through a 2.3-kilometer horizontal tunnel that bores into the mountain toward the seam, which lies about 200 meters beneath the surface. According to the company's website, the ventilation shaft rises108 meters from the tunnel to the surface.
Kokshoorn said it was unclear at what depth the explosion happened but that the blast was very large.
Peter Whittall, chief executive of Pike River Coal Ltd, said 27 people were missing. Five workers walked out of the mine two to three hours after the blast. The first two included the machine operator who was blown off his vehicle 1.5 kilometers into the access tunnel. Three more came out later. One of the men was able to make a call on his cell phone.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said: "The government has told the company it will provide any support that is required."
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