I would do things 1000 times better - Whittall

Pike River CEO Peter Whittall. Photo / NZ Herald

Pike River coal mine chief Peter Whittall expressed his regret today at how he initially delivered his news yesterday to the families of the 29 miners lost in the disaster.

The families had shown excitement at the latest reports on the prospect of a rescue mission as Mr Whittall gave them a preliminary update, only to then reveal the 2.37pm explosion left next to no chance of survivors.

"Yesterday one of the hardest things about that meeting with the family was the fact that we had mobilised the rescue team on to the next level of standby, we did have enough data finally to start analysing and we were quite hopeful that we could get some men into the mine...on the slim chance that there might be someone still left alive," Mr Whittall said.

"By that stage we'd already come to the conclusion I think as a community that it wasn't all of them.

"If I could go back and re-think my opening address to them I would do it a thousand times (better).

"That was very difficult for me. It was very difficult to walk in the room in the first place with everyone looking at me, 'oh he's coming to give us an update, hopefully things are better' and to actually tell them I was starting to go up there to actually look at a risk assessment...

"I just thought they would take that as quietly as they've taken all my other updates until they had a chance to ask questions but they'd obviously been hanging on any glimmer of activity that was positive.

"There was a unanimous and spontaneous excitement so it was absolutely devastating to stand there for the 10 or 15 seconds it took to quieten people down, so I could deliver what was one of the hardest things I've ever had to say to anyone in my life."

- NZPA