New Zealand is in mourning this evening after a second explosion in a coal mine on the west coast at Greymouth in the Pikes River coal mine in which 29 men have perished. Everything had been done to enter the mine safely after the first huge explosion five days ago and to locate these men, but sadly for the familys and the whole country this was not to be, as this afternoon another blast ripped through at least three km of tunnels, and there is no hope of survivors.

This area has a sad history of men lost in tunnel explosions.

The worst being Brunner 1897 when 65 men perished.

A terrible tragedy Brian.

The mine being filled with Methane most likely would have killed them prior to the second blast.

Three of my mates are miners at one of the mines out Blackwater C.Q. way.

I'll never rib them about being paid more than they are worth again.

Rick.

Thanks for that Rick.

There are two of your countrymen still down there.

When I started this thread we had just heard the news of the second explosion and I was in tears as I sat at the keyboard. My wife and I visited Christchurch, and did the Trans Alpine rail tripthrough the Southern Alps to Greymouth two weeks before the Earthquake. I remember the tour train we were on pulling into a side line on a couple of occasions to let the coal train go by the other way. They cart the coal from Greymouth through the Alps to Christchurch for export. Greymouth is a small town with a huge history of coal mining and disaster. The country is in shock.

Brian.

Good grief !!!!

A THIRD explosion today.

That's one bloody dangerous mine.

Rick.

Was this latest evplosion at that same mine?

Yes Bruce. At the same mine.

They had to tunnel 2 km to get at the seam of coal which is only 150 metres below the surface. If it had been allowed to be an open cut pit the gases disperse into the air. The dept. of conservation which owns thousands of acres of bushland in this area, would not allow the coal to be extracted any other way. This country is being hamstrung by these gov't depts.and the greenies. There is billions of dollars in minerals in the ground and it can't be mined because of narrow minded beurocrats. There can be a ballance in my view.

Brian

Your absolutely right Brian,

The "Greenies" have a lot to answer for;

The Victorian bushfires because controlled burns to remove deadfall and builtup flammable material was not allowed just for starters; and now this mining disaster. If they'd allowed open cut mining there'd be 29 men alive today and their families would noty be grieving.

Rick.

Hmmm. Money hungry developer / exploiters at one end of the continuum versus tree hugging greenies at the other.

I am not too sure whether all of the blame should be lumped at the door of the greenies at this point in time. No doubt there was an assessment of the risks associated with such an operation that identified strategies to circumvent anticipated problems with this underground mine. There will definitely be a thorough enquiry and additional influencing factors will be identified - I thought I heard that there had been some problems with this operation prior to the explosion.

On the matter of fires in Australia, I cannot believe how some populations of people want to build and live so close to and even within envelopes of eucalyptus trees. Why do insurance companies provide cover at standard rates to these properties?

Maybe there are two sides to many coins in some arguments and less so in others.

Edited November 27, 201014 yr by boyblunda
spelling

On the NZ tragedy, it seems that the first explosion would have killed everyone then or they would have died soon after. But noone apparently was prepared to come out with the bad news immediately and consequently the media, in AU anyway, dragged the story out. Pretty cruel on the relatives and friends

Edited November 27, 201014 yr by 260DET

Yes DET the story was dragged out here as well, right untill the second blast.

Common sence tells us that it would be a miricle if anyone had survived the first blast. The blast was of such force that it knocked a large loader onto its side in the tunnel. If they manage to ever get back in there it will be interesting to see pictures of the damage.

A jet engine from AUS has arrived which they may try to blow the gases out of the mine.

Brian

Just this afternoon a fourth explosion.

No not greenies fault , until there is an inquiry then I think everyone should say nought , especially on a public forum.

I have worked in U/G coal for 22 yrs so I think I know a little bit about this subject, but I will just say that as the company chose to go ahead and develop the mine as an U/G operation then they have an obligation to manage all risk, be it gas, strata, ect. Very poor judgement to blame , and by the way don't for one moment think that open cut mines are not with out risk. And by the way an open cut operation in the paparoa would be unfeasable , as it is wy to mountainess, not like our Aust seams which are flat and easily accessable by open cut.