New Zealand
13 years after the mine accident: body parts found?
Flames erupt from a vent above the Pike River mine. photo
© Iain Mcgregor/NZPA via AP/dpa
In 2010 there was a serious explosion at the Pike River mine in New Zealand. 29 people are trapped and die in the mine accident. The recovery of the bodies remains difficult.
Almost 13 years after a serious mining accident in New Zealand that killed 29, experts have probably found human remains in the Pike River mine on the South Island. In November 2010, a series of violent explosions occurred in the coal mine northeast of Greymouth. All attempts to reach the trapped miners failed. It is one of the worst mining accidents in the recent history of the Pacific state.
The exact cause was never clarified, the mine was closed. It wasn’t until 2018 that authorities resumed investigations and began attempts to recover the bodies of the victims. With the help of experts, the police have now drilled deep holes in the pit. Pictures from it showed possible human remains – in a place where three miners were probably working at the time of the accident, police spokesman Darryl Sweeney said on Friday.
However, after examining the recordings, two pathologists said that they could not say with certainty whether they really were body parts. “We recognize this is an incredibly difficult process for the families of the 29 men who were killed in Pike River,” Sweeney said. In the coming weeks, three more holes are to be drilled as part of the police investigation.
Police notice report New Zealand Herald