Robot to hunt for survivors of blast
Source: Agencies |
November 23, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN army bomb-disposal robot is to be sent into a New Zealand coal mine where toxic fumes have kept rescuers from reaching 29 workers missing for three days, though officials acknowledged for the first time yesterday it may be too late to save them.
Officials say they will not give up hope of pulling the men out alive after an explosion ripped through the Pike River Mine in the country's South Island last Friday. A buildup of methane gas was suspected, though that may not be confirmed for days.
Methane and other toxic gases - some believed to be coming from a smoldering fire deep underground - have been detected in the network of tunnels that threads through a mountain, and officials fear another explosion if rescuers enter.
"We still remain optimistic, we're still keeping an open mind," police superintendent Gary Knowles said. "But we are planning for all outcomes, and as part of this process we're planning for the possible loss of life as a result of what's occurred underground."
Authorities were expected to finish drilling 160 meters into the mine tunnel by late yesterday to get a better idea of the air quality in areas where miners were believed trapped by the blast and army specialists were at the site fitting a robot with a camera and up to 2.5 kilometers of fiber optic cable so it could be sent into the tunnel.
Two workers stumbled out of the mine within hours of Friday's blast, but there has been no contact with the missing 29.
Survivor Daniel Rockhouse, 24, said the blast smashed him into the mine wall and he was knocked out for a while. When he came to, he staggered to a nearby compressed air line to breathe in fresh air and gain some strength. "I couldn't see anything, and it was dead quiet. I yelled, 'Help, somebody help me!' But no one came."
He stumbled toward the exit and came across Russell Smith. The two men reached the surface nearly two hours after the explosion.
Officials say they will not give up hope of pulling the men out alive after an explosion ripped through the Pike River Mine in the country's South Island last Friday. A buildup of methane gas was suspected, though that may not be confirmed for days.
Methane and other toxic gases - some believed to be coming from a smoldering fire deep underground - have been detected in the network of tunnels that threads through a mountain, and officials fear another explosion if rescuers enter.
"We still remain optimistic, we're still keeping an open mind," police superintendent Gary Knowles said. "But we are planning for all outcomes, and as part of this process we're planning for the possible loss of life as a result of what's occurred underground."
Authorities were expected to finish drilling 160 meters into the mine tunnel by late yesterday to get a better idea of the air quality in areas where miners were believed trapped by the blast and army specialists were at the site fitting a robot with a camera and up to 2.5 kilometers of fiber optic cable so it could be sent into the tunnel.
Two workers stumbled out of the mine within hours of Friday's blast, but there has been no contact with the missing 29.
Survivor Daniel Rockhouse, 24, said the blast smashed him into the mine wall and he was knocked out for a while. When he came to, he staggered to a nearby compressed air line to breathe in fresh air and gain some strength. "I couldn't see anything, and it was dead quiet. I yelled, 'Help, somebody help me!' But no one came."
He stumbled toward the exit and came across Russell Smith. The two men reached the surface nearly two hours after the explosion.
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