The jet-propelled GAG machine attempting to extinguish the coal seam fire at the Pike River Coal mine is up and running again this afternoon after two high-pressure hose fittings were damaged.
Police say that while the machine was shutdown, as replacement parts were made up and brought from Christchurch, workers were
able to further seal the portal and increase the efficiency of the GAG -- the Gorniczy Agregat Gasniczy inertisation machine -- which is pumping carbon dioxide into the West Coast mine.
The damaged hose fittings, which supply water to the GAG , had to be sent to Christchurch so engineers could make exact copies for the Polish-designed machine, said Tasman district area commander Superintendent Gary Knowles.
The new hoses and fittings were trucked back to the mine overnight because they were too big and heavy to airlift, he said.
The GAG has been running since Wednesday in an attempt to extinguish the fire as efforts continue to retrieve the bodies of 29 men killed after a series of explosions in the coal mine, about 50km from Greymouth.
Once the fire is put out, the GAG machine will blow nitrogen down the shaft to try and cool the mine down.
