Pike River mine bore hole completed

A bore hole being drilled into the Pike River mine has been completed.
Pike River chairman John Dow told Radio New Zealand that hot air and gas came up through the bore hole when the drill broke through, as had been expected.
Mr Dow said the gas had been analysed but he did not yet know the results. The findings from those samples would be critical in what action was taken next, he said.
A spokesperson for Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee confirmed the drill had broken through but did not have any further detail.
Labour leader Phil Goff was at the briefing for miners' families this morning.
He said the expert advice given since the bore hole was completed was that it was "a highly dangerous environment".
"There are hundreds of people in that meeting who would dearly love to volunteer to walk into that mine but you have to go with the expert advice," he said.
Hard rock had earlier hampered the drilling of the bore hole, which continued through the night.
The 160m deep hole will give authorities access to another part of the mine where they can take air samples. Camera and video imaging equipment will also be lowered to give rescuers an idea of the conditions.
Another hole closer to where many of the missing men were believed to have been working is also planned.
Robot
A Defence Force robot that broke down in the Pike River mine yesterday has been restarted and has gone deeper into the mine, with a second Army robot also moving into the tunnel.
A more advanced robot from Western Australia has also arrived on the West Coast to help in the rescue of 29 miners trapped underground since Friday's explosion.
Police said the first Defence Force robot had been restarted overnight and had travelled another 500m into the tunnel, before being stopped at the 1km mark.
A spokesperson confirmed that a second Defence Force robot was now also in the tunnel.
Families' briefing
Lawrie Drew, the father of missing miner Zen Drew, said families at this morning's briefing were told that gases in the mine were still volatile
Mr Drew said the mood among the families was "not very happy".
He told the Herald that relatives were annoyed they had not been shown security camera footage of Friday's mine blast until yesterday.
"The anger is getting worse with a lot of other people. I'm not angry I'm annoyed. The truth wasn't told from the beginning," Mr Drew said.
Officials have known about the film for days, but did not reveal its existence until yesterday.
"They would have had it [the video] Friday night. They could have showed it to us Saturday morning and saved us a little bit of anguish. It would have allowed us to progress through our minds emotionally," Mr Drew said.
"Families would have appreciated seeing things sooner. Peter [Whittall] would have wanted it shown but others thought it wasn't necessary."
Mr Drew said the most frustrating thing for families was the lack of information.
"The only tension is we are not being told what's going on. It's not what we want to see happen. We want confirmation."
Mr Drew said the families were frustrated that they were not allowed to go to the mine site.
Survivor holding onto hope
Miner Daniel Rockhouse, who walked out of the mine with minor injuries after the blast, said he was holding onto hope but was "pretty distraught".
His brother Ben is still trapped in the mine.
"Everyone needs to pray for [the missing miners] as well. This gives Pike River staff and Mines Rescue all the support they need. Hang in there. I guess it's a waiting game," Mr Rockhouse said.
He said he thought rescuers were doing everything they could.
"I don't expect other guys to risk their lives when it's just pointless to go in. If they go in there they're going to get killed."
Asked whether he thought officials were doing a good job, he replied: "Definitely. I just wish they'd get an intrinsically safe one [robot] that's not going to short-out with water."
Mr Goff said he accepted authorities were doing everything they could.
"I'm seeing enormous stress. People have been living with that awful uncertainty of what has happened to their loved ones. They just want to know what has happened. Frustration becomes anger and this is an absolutely human response."
See the NZ Herald website for the latest updates.