(TargetLiberty.org) – In November 2010, methane explosions in New Zealand’s Pike River Mine claimed the lives of 29 miners, while two others escaped with injuries. In the 11 years since the disaster, the bodies of the victims haven’t been retrieved from the mine. A recent discovery could give some of the families long-awaited closure.
Just days before the 11th anniversary, on November 17, Police Detective Superintendent Peter Read announced police had located two, possibly three, bodies in the mine. They were able to send a camera down a recently dug hole and found the bodies at the far end. Unfortunately, methane levels are still very high, making it impossible for anyone to retrieve the remains.
Twenty-nine men were killed after a series of methane gas explosions ripped through the Pike River mine on the west coast of the South Island in November 2010 https://t.co/jMRswUmdIb
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 17, 2021
Read said the police are working with forensic experts to determine if they can do anything to identify the remains. Authorities previously indicated that there were six to eight men working in the area when the accident took place.
For years, the families of the victims have asked the police to enter the mine some other way to retrieve their loved ones, but it’s never happened. If authorities can’t retrieve the bodies, finding out where they are in the mine might be the closest the family ever gets to closure.
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