Rescuers working to save injured person stuck down abandoned Tyneside Mine on West Coast

Emergency services have mounted a rescue operation to free a person stuck down the old Tyneside Mine on the West Coast.

A Fire and Emergency shift manager said two trucks and one support vehicle were at the now permanently closed coal mine.

He said one person was stuck at the bottom of a mine shaft, and crews were working to rescue them.

The highway side of the site has been closed while the recovery effort is under way.

Department of Conservation Greymouth senior ranger, Darrell Haworth, said staff were on-site as emergency services worked to extract the person, who had fallen down the shaft on the highway side of the Brunner Mine site.

Haworth said he understood the person was injured.

“We first want to ensure the person is extracted safely from the mineshaft before we undertake work to ensure the site is safe for the public.

“The mineshaft is securely fenced; at this time, we do not know how the person accessed the shaft.”

Hato Hone St John has been approached for comment.

The Tyneside mine operated from the 1870s until 1908.

It was one of several mines situated on the banks of the Grey River between the small townships of Stillwater and Taylorville, near Dobson.

More to come