Pike River re-entry to go ahead


"To the Pike River families - and New Zealand - we are returning."

That was Pike River Re-entry Minister Andrew Little's message this morning as he announced that re-entry to the Pike River Mine drift would go ahead.

Speaking at an event at Parliament, attended by some of the families who lost loved ones in the West Coast disaster in 2010, Little said he had carefully considered the advice of the Pike River Recovery Agency and had decided to proceed with one of three options presented for re-entry to the drift.

The options

• Drive a small tunnel to create a ventilation circuit
• Single entry, using the existing main drift access tunnel as the sole means to ventilate the main drift
• Single entry with a large-diameter borehole

"On the basis of all the material I have been presented with, I am satisfied that there is now a safe plan for re-entry and recovery," Little said.

"Therefore, today I am announcing that I have approved the single entry plan. Re-entry of the Pike River mine drift will proceed," he said.

Police this morning acknowledged the Government’s announcement, saying it would carry out its own risk assessment of the re-entry plan.

Pike re-entry graphic  NZ Herald
Next Monday is the eighth anniversary of the tragedy at the mine. Two men survived, but 29 died after explosions on November 19, 2010.

"Re-entry to the Pike River drift is an extraordinarily complex undertaking. This is a site which, even eight years after being the scene of multiple explosions and taking the lives of 29 men, poses major hazards. This has required incredibly robust planning," Little said.

The agency had recommended re-entering the drift via the existing entry. Cabinet this week approved an additional $14 million in funding, taking the total budget for the plan to $36 million.

Little also considered the advice of independent adviser Rob Fyfe before making his decision on the options.

The Family Reference Group, which had its own experts, was also consulted throughout the process.

The first major task, breaching the 30-metre seal inside the drift, was likely to begin in February.

Little said much of the preparatory work had been been done, such as making new emergency portal doors, restoring power and setting up a nitrogen plant to push out dangerous gases from the mine before oxygen is pumped in.

Little said there was always uncertainty in such projects but health and safety was paramount.

He quoted from the agency's report: "There is a lot we do not know and will not know until we are confronted with the situation as we find it underground. This will require agile thinking, the courage of all to say no if we are uncomfortable, the preparedness to reassess, reset and re-plan when necessary, and knowing when to call it 'quits'."

Little said that since the middle of this year, police had been actively involved in any re-entry plan so they could prepare for any forensic examination and victim identification.

He said the Government, and the three partners that made it up, committed to fulfilling the original promise made to the families, to do everything practicably possible to re-enter the drift and recover any remains and better understand the cause or causes or the original explosion on November 19.

Just two workers managed to escape after an explosion rocked the mine eight years ago. Photo: ODT...
Just two workers managed to escape after an explosion rocked the mine eight years ago. Photo: ODT files

VICTORY FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE: SAY FAMILIES 

Sonya Rockhouse, Anna Osbourne and Bernie Monk lost loved ones in the explosion and who have been fighting for re-entry,  alongside other families for re-entry, stood beside Little holding photos of those they lost.

Monk and Rockhouse each lost a son, and Osbourne lost her husband. They were visibly emotional as Little announced his decision.

Bernie Monk: "I know we can get this whole job done." Image: NZ Herald
Bernie Monk: "I know we can get this whole job done." Image: NZ Herald
Osbourne said the families fought "really hard" for this day.

"This is a victory for the little people of New Zealand."

She said 29 men went to work that day and no one expected they would never see them again.

"It is a truly amazing day for the families today."

She said there needed to be changes in workplace health and safety, with more than 400 workplace deaths since the mine tragedy and thanked the late unionist Helen Kelly "from the bottom of our hearts".

Monk expressed relief at the decision to re-enter the mine and of the effort involved to get to this stage.

“At the end of the day, I was always confident this job would get done,” he told media this morning.

“Even when we were in our darkest days, the reason why we stood our ground is [because] I knew this job could be done.

"Everyone got sick of us and didn't want this job to happen. And we had to go out and find all this evidence.

"We shouldn't have had to do this. But we've done it and I know that this whole job can be done.

"It's just a matter of putting the right people in place to make sure it does get done"

POLICE TO ASSESS RISK

Police this morning acknowledged the Government’s announcement, saying it would carry out its own risk assessment of the re-entry plan.

They were working closely with the Pike River Recovery Agency to support its work, including the secondment of a senior detective to the agency, who had been in the role for several months.

Police would have a dual role regarding re-entry to the drift. This involved completing a scene examination in relation to the original police investigation which concluded in 2013. The other role was management of any processes required on behalf of the Coroner.

Police said safety of  its staff was paramount and it would now undertake its own risk assessment of the re-entry plan.

This would determine whether staff would enter the mine, or if others with the necessary expertise and experience in mine environments could perform certain functions normally undertaken by police while inside the drift.

Any new evidence which was identified would be assessed to determine what, if any relevance it has to the original police investigation.

Police said they remained determined to do all they could to provide answers to the families from the police perspective, and would continue to keep the families informed of progress and work in support of the Pike River Recovery Agency.

LOT OF WORK AHEAD

Pike River Recovery Agency head Dave Gawn said there was still a lot not known and there was still a lot of work ahead.

"Safety comes first, then operations, but we are confident we can recover the drift and get this operation completed."

Andrew Little said he was confident in the advice he had received.

"This hasn't been a difficult decision because of that."

Little received a report from the Pike River Recovery Agency late last month following nine months of work which identified three "safe and feasible" options to go into the drift.

The minister told The New Zealand Herald last month he would make a final decision on whether it was even feasible to re-enter the drift after reading the report and receiving advice from independent adviser Rob Fyfe.

Little told a parliamentary committee in June it was possible re-entry could be started by the end of this year if a decision to go in was made, but he pulled back from that in October.

"I understand that is looking less likely now and it would be the early part of next year," he said.

"The Pike River Families and their representatives have been also included at every stage. The families have shown extraordinary patience and tenacity, and their contribution has been crucial," Little said.

Little had been expected to go to Cabinet to ask for $10-15 million on top of the up to $23 million already budgeted for the recovery.

 

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The crime will be uncovered / and a crime it was and is.

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